ESSAYS AND ORATIONS 



FOR 



COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES 



BY 



CHAS. READE 



A. FLANAGAN COMPANY, 
CHICAGO NEW YORK 




THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAY. 1 1901 

COPYRICHT ENTRY 

CLASS ^XXc. Na. 

/ o ^ o y 

COPY 3. 



Copyright i90i 

BY 

CHAS. READE 






f 



PREFACE. 



The venerable custom of closing our schools and col- 
leges each year with commencement exercises is anx- 
iously looked forward to by the community in general, 
as it is the one day in the year when students appear 
})ublicly. An opportunity is given to the public to judge 
of what has been done in a literary way at least for and 
by those who have completed the curriculum. It there- 
fore should be the aim of every student to deliver a well- 
prepared and pleasing oration, or to read well an essay on 
some subject of general interest. 

This volume of essays and orations has been com- 
piled to assist pupils and teachers in preparing com- 
mencement exercises. It is not intended that these essays 
will be copied or followed by the teachers or pupils, but 
they will, it is hoped, be to some extent a model as to 
what may be done with topics treated, and suggesting 
more in similar lines. 

I sincerely trust that this little volume will prove a 
source of help and interest to teachers and pupils. 

CHAS. READE. 

Chicago, April, 1901. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Salutatory 7 

Our Country g 

The Single Tax 15 

Manual Training ig 

The Anglo-Saxon Alliance 24 

Is Whatever Is Worth Doing, Worth Doing Well? 27 - 

"Auld-Lang-Syne" 31 

Growth 34.. 

Ruins 40 

The Dandelion's Work 45 

'Teh Dien" (I Serve) 47 - 

The Eyes We Look Through 51 

Uses of Beauty 55 

What Shall We Do with the Boys? 59 

Words, Words, Words 63 

Reading 67 

The Young Housekeeper 70 

Electricity 75 - 

Success in Life 82 

Gypsies 85 

Fairy Tales, Myths and Chivalric Literature for Children. . 90 

Ideals and Realities , . . . . 95 

For Character Is Our Immortality 98 - 

Kites with Too Large Tails 102 

Seven Wonders of the World 108 

The Gambler's Wife 113- 

Intellectual Progress 115 

The Future of the Arid West 118 

Gladstone and the Irish Struggle 122 

Roads 129 

"What a Woman Can Do" 133 



6 CONTENTS. 

Page 

Our National Holidays 139 

Footprints 144 

"All the World's a Wheel" 147 

The Salvation Army 151- 

The Value of College Education 156 

"By Their Fruit Ye Shall Know Them" 159 

Everything Has Its Model 162 , 

Silent Forces 165 

Passions 170 

Municipal Reform 173 

Character More Valuable Than Reputation 177 

The Coming Farmer 180 

A Glimpse at the Coffee-Houses 185 

We Build the Ladder by Which We Rise 191 

Valedictory . 194 

The Old Man Goes to Town 198 

Six Maxims for Boys 203 

What God Gives a Boy 204 

How Boys May Succeed 205 

Class Mottoes 207 



OUR COUNTRY. 



OUR COUNTRY. 

Our country as known to civilized man is young in 
years and without antiquity of art, science, literature or 
government, when measured by the standard of other 
nations. It is in a new world whose existence was sus- 
pected by the ancients, and proven in the later periods 
of history. But in spite of all this its people possess the 
treasures of the experience of ages, and results of the 
progress of the human race from prehistoric times. With 
these treasures they have gained the wisdom to build up 
with wonderful quickness, a nation unequaled in its 
strength and resources, developed and undeveloped. 

It is but yesterday in the record of the earth's exist- 
ence, that modern men first discovered that our planet 
was a globe, and that in the waters between the western 
coasts of Europe and Africa, and the eastern coasts of 
Asia, there lay a vast continent, teeming with life, wealth 
and beauty. For years after its discovery this continent 
was shrouded in deep mystery, and w^as the subject of 
wild conjecture and tales of wonder. Then brave and 
earnest men and women ventured across the Atlantic 
Ocean and established homes in the wilderness. Thus 
were laid the cornerstones of the great states which form 
the nation. 

It is not easy, at this time, to comprehend the impulse 
given to Europe by the discovery of America. It was 
not the gradual acquisition of some border territory, a 
province, or a kingdom that had been gained. But a 



IQ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

new world v,as thrown open to the Europeans. The races 
of animals, the forms of vegetable growth, and the varied 
aspects of nature, filled the mind with entirely new 
ideas, that changed the habitual current of thought and 
stimulated it to unmeasured conjecture. 

As a result of this excitement some cities in Europe 
v/ere about depopulated, their inhabitants flocking to 
take their chances in the New World. Here they formed 
settlements, some of which were permanent; but in most 
of them sickness, starvation and the Indians soon caused 
the people to return to Europe. 

The first permanent settlement in the United States 
was that formed by the Spaniards, in 1565, at St. Augus- 
tine, Florida; and the first permanent New England 
settlement was made by the Pilgrims, in 1620, at Ply- 
mouth, Mass. The people who made the former did it 
for the love of gain only; but those who founded the 
latter, were seeking liberty — that liberty for which our 
forefathers finally fought and bled. Independence of 
mind, a fearless spirit, with an unparalleled strength of 
purpose, are characteristics for which the Pilgrims par- 
ticularly were distinguished. They landed with brave 
hearts and willing hands, 

"They litde thought how pure a light 
With years should gather round that day — 
How love should keep their memories bright — 
How wide a realm their sons should sway." 

When the seeds of war sprang up in the breasts of 
the Revolutionary heroes, were not the counselors of 
Great Britain strangely perplexed? The voice of wis- 
dom forsook her parliament, and her king, her nobles, 
and her people were misled by blinded judgment. 



OUR COUNTRY. II 

It was early in this period, big with the destinies of 
millions, when all that is dear and valuable to man was 
at stake, and the hopes of America were on the point of 
being blasted forever, that the immortal Washington 
appeared leader upon the field of battle. A mysterious 
Providence seemed to designate him, as the man who 
was to lead the American armies to victory and conquest. 
His course was brilliant and successful; he met the vet- 
erans who wore the laurels of victory of a hundred hard 
fought battles, but he defeated them, rescuing the coun- 
try from the invader's sword and causing its rights and 
its privileges to be acknowledged and upheld by the 
voices of nations. 

The framing of the Constitution — that great founda- 
tion of our country's glory — is not among the least of the 
great acts by which these United States are distin- 
guished. Our Constitution is the written embodiment 
of the great principles "Liberty and Union, Now and 
Forever." We shudder when we think how near broken 
w^re the bonds of Union, which each state imposed upon 
itself when it ratified this Constitution, and how these 
principles were almost crushed when, in 1861, the storm 
of the Civil War burst over the country and afterward 
ravaged it. 

It will not be necessary for me to attempt to enumerate 
the memorable scenes enacted during that struggle, the 
details of which are familiar to us all. Suffice it is to say 
that from the time when the first shot in treason crashed 
against the walls of Fort Sumter, until the day on which 
Grant met Lee in that historic farmhouse, at Appomat- 
tox, and received the surrender of the Confederate army, 
our country was deluged with blood and these principles 
swaved in the balance. Thousands of Union's and Free- 



12 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

dom's noble sons willingly sacrificed their lives in these 
causes. Thus was carried out the further great principle 
announced by our forefathers in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence: *'A11 men are created free and equal." Slav- 
ery — the terrible stain that marred the beauty of our ban- 
ner and the integrity of the Union — -vv'as wiped out of 
our land. 

On Decoration Day the graves of the heroic dead are 
wreathed in flowers by a grateful people. An eminent 
author says, "Every soldier's grave becomes an altar," 
and it seems that since our heroes fell there are fresh 
reasons why the month of May should cover all the land 
with flowers. We bring rosemary for remembrance of 
their gallant deeds; pansies for proud thoughts of their 
devotion ; roses that remind us of their heart's blood so 
freely shed, and lilies as graceful and fair as their young 
lives offered on the altars of Union and Freedom. 

The bitterness of that sad time we seek to forget, and 
to cherish only the thoughts of their noble deeds. We 
do not ask v/hether the dust beneath wore the blue or 
the gray. It is enough for us that it is a soldier's grave, 
and we wreathe it with flowers. 

The time since the Civil War has been a period of 
remarkable commercial growth. This grov/th has been 
wonderfully strengthened and growth in another direc- 
tion developed by our recent acquirement of territory in 
Atlantic and Pacific waters. Doubtless we did right to 
keep the Philippines, though Vv^e should appear in a better 
light before the world had we refused to take Porto Rico 
as a prize of war. Whatever the right or wrong of our 
foreign policy there can be no doubt that commercialism 
has been greatly stimulated. 

The past century has been justly termed **the century 



OUR COUNTRY. 13 

of progress." Agriculture, which is the primary source 
of wealth, induces manufacturing, and these together 
become the source of profitable commerce. Through 
commerce we cultivate the fine arts, science, literature 
and education; and these foster religion and morality, 
the basis of the highest civilization. 

In the matter of inventions our country is found in the 
front ranks of nations. In the matter of educational facil- 
ities she is approximating an epoch in mental culture that 
now rivals Cambridge and Oxford, England, and also the 
German universities. The heart of the nation incessantly 
beats toward education. It has been said that the greatest 
wxalth that America has ever possessed is her men and 
w-omen, remarkable for their patriotism, intellectual 
growth and genius in developing the resources with 
which our country is abundantly supplied. 

Our country is one of expansion. I do not mean so 
much territorially, as in ideas of government, civilization, 
religion and education. Our flag is a symbol of prosper- 
ity, protection, expansion, patriotism and higher civiliza- 
tion. No one dares to haul down the American flag. It 
is God's ensign to all benighted people. 

It behooves us to serve with loyal heart and life that 
glorious country of which Lowell says : 



Stormy the day of her birth, 
Was she not born for the strong ? 

She, the last ripeness of Earth, 
Beautiful, prophesied long. 

Stormy the day of her prime. 
Hers are the pulses that beat 

Higher for peril sublime, 
Making them fawn at her feet. 



14 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Was she not born for the strong ? 

Was she not born for the wise? 
Daring and counsel belong 

Of right to her confident eyes. 

Human and motherly they, 
Careless of stations' race ; 

Hearken ! her children to-day 
Shout for the joy of her face. 



THE SINGLE TAX, 15 



THE SINGLE TAX. 

"The Single Tax" is a term applied since 1888 to what 
Mr. Henry George first formulated as the only right 
remedy for prevailing economic ills. 

Single Tax is a tax on land in proportion to its site 
value, irrespective of the improvements it may contain 
or the uses to which it may be put. It is not a tax on 
real estate precisely, for real estate includes both the 
improvements and the land. Nor is it strictly a tax on 
land as such, for not all land should be taxed, but only 
that which has a proper value independent of all improve- 
ments. 

The Single Tax would do away with all other forms 
of taxation. It would set commerce free, and leave labor 
unimpeded, for thrift and industry would not be discoun- 
tenanced by penalties as at present. Nothing but land 
would be taxed, and it would be taxed not in proportion 
to its area, but in proportion to its site value. 

The Single Tax theory assumes: (i) That all men have 
naturally an equal right to the bounties of their common 
Creator — to land which is the passive source of wealth 
production; (2) That every man has an individual right 
to all the fruits of his own toil. 

These assumptions seem to be self-evident truths — pri- 
mary postulates of right reason. Therefore, if any man 
claims more than an equal right to the Creator's bounties, 
or a right to more than the full fruits of his own toil, the 
burden of proving his title rests upon him. It follows, 
clearly, that whoever appropriates more than an equality 



r6 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

of land privileges has exceeded his right unless he com- 
pensates the community for the extra advantages which 
he enjoys. In like manner, he who takes without ade- 
quate compensation the fruits of another's toil is bound to 
restore. 

The extra privileges associated with land constitute 
its site value and the equitable compensation for these 
privileges is the measure and matter of the Single Tax. 
Land of itself has no value until the presence of popula- 
tion gives to certain parts certain advantages over other 
parts. Since it is society that gives to land its site value, 
society but claims its ovs^n when it taxes site values. 

In final analysis all private property is the product of 
labor, and is justly due as a reward to the toil that has 
produced it. To tax a man for toiling, for trading, for 
building, for making improvements, — in a word, for 
creating wealth — is to deprive him of what is justly his. 
It puts a premium on idleness and a penalty on exertion. 
All other forms of taxation, except the Single Tax, vio- 
late the individual's right to property in the wealth 
which he produces or possesses. 

The site value of land is not the result of industry or 
toil. We repeat, site value accrues to land from the 
presence of population. It is not the property of any 
individual. Hence no one's property right is violated 
by the imposition of the Single Tax. The needs of soci- 
ety show that there must, indeed, be a right of exclusive 
possession of land. Secure possession is necessary for 
reaping the products of toil. But this right of possession 
must be limited by the equal right of all and should be 
conditioned on a payment to the public equivalent to the 
privileges enjoyed. In order that every one may be 
secured in his property rights to the things which he has 



THE SINGLE TAX. 17 

produced, the right of property in what no one has pro- 
duced must be denied. While it would be a violation of 
justice to tax labor or the products of toil, it would be 
also unjust not to tax site values and special privileges. 

If one thousand men have an equal right to occupy a 
theater, those who take the choicest seats should com- 
pensate those who are obliged to stand or take inferior 
seats. This is succinctly the whole argument of the 
subject. 

The Single Tax commends itself both by reasons of 
expediency and of morality. The Single Tax would sim- 
plify the assessment and collection of public revenues, 
and eliminate the present strain on public morals. A 
multitude of expensive officials now required for collect- 
ing taxes on other forms of property could be dispensed 
with. The public treasury would get a greater percent- 
age of what is paid from the private purse. The site value 
of land is easily estimated. Land lies out of doors, it 
cannot be concealed. There could be no motive or rea- 
son for misrepresentation, perjury and bribery, and tax 
dodging would become a lost art. 

The Single Tax would facilitate production, and one 
economic paradox, idle land and idle labor, would cease 
to exist. Land now held for speculation would have to 
be used or else dropped. The dog would have to get out 
of the m^anger. Vacant or half-used valuable land would 
be made to bear fruit. 

Under the Single Tax population would become more 
happily distributed. At present thousands in cities live 
cooped up in tenements, because of the enormous specu- 
lative prices at which vacant lots are held. Elsewhere 
people are scattered too widely apart for personal and 
social development, because some who do not use, or 



l8 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

only half use, the land grab all they can get in the hope 
of profiting by its increase in value. Under the Single 
Tax a man would not want more land than he could use 
to advantage, nor would he hinder another from using 
all he could pay the tax on. 

The theory of Single Tax involves the imposition of no 
new form of taxation, since we already tax land values 
somewhat in taxing real estate. This tax, however, 
should be increased until it equals the economic rent, 
the annual site value, the "unearned increment." 

It is believed that the "unearned increment" of land, 
like the coin found by Peter in the fish's mouth, would 
suffice to provide all necessary public revenues. 

As population increases and public needs multiply, so 
would site values increase. If population were dimin- 
ished there would be need of less revenue, so, too, would 
site values decline. The Single Tax is a self-adjusting 
tax. It is likewise proportioned to benefits and privi- 
leges. It is, therefore, a just tax. It springs from society 
for the use of society. It seems to be the only natural 
and rational system of taxation. 

Rev. T. E. Cox. 



MANUAL TRAINING. I9 



MANUAL TRAINING. 

It is through the use of tools that man has reached 
the place of supremacy among animals. As he increases 
his stock of tools he recedes from the state of savagery. 
The great gulf between the savage and civilized man is 
spanned by the seven hand tools — the ax, the saw, the 
plane, the hammer, the chisel, the square, and the file. 

The discussion of the question of manual training in 
the public schools has advanced beyond the merely the- 
oretical condition and is now in the practical stage. 
Manual training overcomes one of the greatest difficul- 
ties that the teacher of the present day has to contend 
with; viz., the lack of concentration on the part of pupils 
and their inability to reason. This want of mental povv^er 
on the part of children of to-day has been growing more 
and more apparent as our country has become more set- 
tled and its inhabitants more wealthy. The deficiency 
in this respect is largely due to the fact that the children 
have few^ or no duties outside of the school-room that 
tend to develop their powers of perception and observa- 
tion. 

Formerly, when our country was new and we had no 
large cities, nearly all the boys and girls had responsibili- 
ties at home that were developing them both physically 
and mentally; for any responsibility, no matter how 
small, develops certain characteristics in a person. 

The requirements thus made upon the children of 
those days were in the nature of manual labor. In many 



20 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

cases a chance of education in schools depended entirely 
upon the amount of manual labor performed by the pupil 
when out of school; and the result was steady growth 
of mental power and vigor as well as in bodily strength. 
What teacher ever complained of the boy or girl who 
was compelled to earn his or her own schooling? Was 
there a lack of concentration or attention in these cases? 
What was the result when these pupils reached man- 
hood or womanhood? Were such persons compelled to 
v/ander from one place to another in search of employ- 
ment through inability to think and act as so often is the 
case with the many thoughtless youth of to-day? 

Manual training does not mean learning exclusively 
for trades, it means bringing the hand and the eye to 
work with the brain, and to help it think and express itself. 
Manual training exercises have always proven successful 
when tried. Their introduction into the schools of Swe- 
den has been followed by a spirit of industry, thrift and 
sobriety among the people. In the various cities of the 
United States, wherever introduced, it has proven not 
only of great economic value, but an educational process 
of the greatest importance. 

It has been proven that the training at the industrial 
schools by fostering a spirit of industry, by teaching use- 
ful trades, enables the young man to grapple successfully 
with the difBculties of life and to the same extent checks 
immoral tendencies. 

There seems to be a prejudice against manual labor, 
by the young people of to-day in nearly every station of 
society, that is leading to great evil. But let us have 
the manual training school, as a part of our educational 
system this state of thing will be entirely changed; for 
then mental training and physical development going 



MANUAL TRAIKIXG. 2i 

hand-in-hand will be equally appreciated and likewise 
honored. 

After leaving school the practical student will be bet- 
ter qualified than the mere text-book student to deal with 
the social problems he will be called upon to solve. The 
time has come when something more than purely mental 
work is demanded from the schools. We are not only 
to educate the few^ v/ho are to become doctors, lawwers, 
and teachers, but the prime office of the schools is to 
help the great majority to solve the bread and butter 
problem and to enable them to become good and useful 
citizens. No one can deny that the young man who has 
been studying words is less prepared for the world than 
he who has been studying things. 

Wendell Phillips said, ''Our school system is too 
short, and in justice to boys and girls as w^ell as to soci- 
ety, it should see that those w^hose work in life is to be 
one of manual labor, should be prepared for it." Opin- 
ions of this character might be multiplied almost indefi- 
nitely. The value of the public school system as an en- 
lightening and civilizing agency is not to be underesti- 
mated. It w^as not estabhshed as a special industrial 
agency, it was established as a buhvark of liberty and 
nobly has it fulfilled that miission. The colonial fathers 
had a horror of ignorance and as a barrier against it 
built the public school. 

The effect of manual training- upon the more useful 
arts and upon the commercial greatness of a people has 
had no better illustration than in the history of France. 
In millions of French people are found the artistic arti- 
san. They supply the foundries, factories, and shops of 
the country with designers and decorators. France has 
been devastated by mighty wars, her expenditures have 



22 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

been enormous, but notwithstanding all of these draw- 
backs she has reached the summit of prosperity through 
the monopoly which she holds in the markets of the 
world for many kinds of commodities which depend 
upon design and finish. The foundation of her success 
'was laid when art-industrial schools were first estab- 
lished for the instruction of her youth. 

The "World's Fair" held in Chicago in 1893, in honor 
of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of this conti- 
nent by Christopher Columbus, appeared the culminating 
point of one great epoch in the history of man's industry. 
Never before was there a larger gathering or greater 
exhibit. No exposition of the past ever received the 
support of more than one-third of the nations of the 
globe, while the Columbian Exposition received recog- 
nition and application for space from every civilized na- 
tion of the globe. The ends of tlie earth awoke and in 
honorable emulation lay before the public gaze their 
triumphs over nature and submitted their works to the 
judgment of the world's jury. This wonderful exhibit 
has become a matter of history, but the great results, the 
mighty influence of the gathering are now manifest among 
us. There, the hard-handled mechanic learned a lesson 
of his deficiencies as a workingman and the man of 
thought saw the points in which American manufactur- 
ers fell short of excellence. 

Hence there has arisen on the one hand a desire to 
learn and on the other a willingness to instruct. Then 
the problem presented itself — How can the mass of busy 
workmen learn? How can an industrial education be 
diffused? 

The problem has been seriously considered and ad- 
vanced thinkers on the subject do not hesitate to recom- 



MANUAL TRAINING. . ' 23 

mend the adoption of manual training as a necessary 
part of instruction in our schools. If it is said that this 
ought to be done in the workshop or manufactory, let 
it be remembered that apprenticeship in the trades has 
ahr.ost disappeared in this country and well-trained, 
native-born Americans are becoming scarcer every year. 
Our mechanic arts are falling into the hands of skilled 
foreigners. The occupations calling for taste, for artistic 
touch in their manufacture are mainly held by skilled 
European workmen, who have emigrated to avail them- 
selves of the multitudinous advantages offered by our 
great and noble republic. 

The way in which manual training ought to be carried 
on and the extent to which the public schools can be 
used for this purpose has been shown by the experience 
of those schools which have undertaken it. For the most 
part the manual school should go alongside the High 
School, since the pupils for the former are to be recruited 
from the latter. The pupils can pass from the high to 
the manual department at regular, selected hours just 
as they would pass into a class-room for a literary reci- 
tation. 

One who gives this subject much consideration can 
scarcely fail to see that industrial schools could be made 
the means of developing the resources of the state, of 
curbing evil propensities and of training the rising gen- 
eration to the duties and responsibilities of American 
citizens. 



24 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE ANGLO-SAXON ALLIANCE. 

Since the Civil War, England has reahzed that the 
United States and the doctrines maintained by her are 
not the mere experiment which she formerly regarded 
them, but that she is destined to be one of the most 
important nations in the world. Furthermore, she has 
recognized that her progress depends upon an intimate 
friendship for the United States. In the course of events, 
'we went to war with Spain. Seeing that the sympathies 
of the powers on the continent were with Spain, Great 
Britain seized the opportunity and advocated an alliance 
of the two nations. Soon the question was in the mouths 
of the people all over the United States. 

All the leading nations of Europe are bound together 
by an agreement that they shall not attempt to change 
their form of government or increase their territory. 
England was the proposer of this agreement and ever 
since has remained the most important factor in it. The 
concert of Europe, as the nations forming the agreement 
are called, never promoted or advocated a single act 
which increased the progress of civilization. They have 
stood by, and beheld the massacre of the poor Armenians 
by the Turks, and various other barbarous acts such as 
those of the Crimean War. No sooner does Germany 
or Russia propose an act which is in any way an en- 
croachment upon the liberty-loving people of the world 
than all the other nations follow suit. In justice to Eng- 
land it must be said that she never advocates any of these 
measures, still she never opposes them. 

Most of the European Powers are hereditary monarch- 



THE ANGLO-SAXON ALLIANCE. 2S 

ies— either absolute or limited, and therefore maintain 
that the monarch holds his throne direct from God, and 
that governments are organizations apart from man. 
We hold that governments are institutions established 
by the people, and for the people. Although the gov- 
ernment of England daily recognizes more and more the 
interests of the people, it is an hereditary monarchy, and 
therefore it is based upon the belief that their ruler is 
divinely ordained. The interests of England are opposed 
to those of the other members of the concert, and for 
that reason they are hostile to her. Should England 
withdraw from the league, the present equilibrium would 
be destroyed and all Europe would be enacted scenes 
as horrifying and terrible as any of the past, for it is only 
the existing agreement which prevents them from pour- 
ing their hordes upon the English possessions situated 
all over the globe. 

We cannot, therefore, deem England willing to with- 
draw from the league, for in so doing she would precipi- 
tate herself in war with all the European powers. If we, 
then, join Gfeat Britain, we must join this concert, that 
a.greement between the nations of Europe which pre- 
vents them from promoting any act which will further 
the inroads of civilization. We should then be obscured 
in such matters by the louder and more strongly backed 
Great Britain, and sooner or later the world would hear 
no more of that nation which has stood out alone here- 
tofore, for liberty and equality of men. 

We came from England bringing with us the spirit of 
liberty. Our rights were infringed upon. We freed 
ourselves from the oppressor and estabhshed a republic 
upon the principles that were never better voiced 
than in the words of our own Declaration of Independ- 



26 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

ence. We declared that we would form a nation that 
should hereafter stand forth for liberty and justice, and 
be an ideal for all hberty-loving nations. We abolished 
slavery from this land. We freed Cuba from Spanish 
oppression. We are at present striving to become an 
ideal nation. Just as a glorious future is opened for us 
shall we dismiss our aims, giving up the principles which 
v/e have laid down for prestige with even a great nation? 
Shall we be dominated by king or queen, and indirectly 
substitute for the stars and stripes, the red cross of 
England? No, Never! would be the answer coming 
from the hearts of many millions of liberty-loving Ameri- 
cans. Therefore, we can join Great Britain only on the 
condition that she can and will withdraw all connections 
with the European powers. For then and then only will 
England be free to act. Under such condition only will 
the history of Great Britain ever read as does ^America's 
for the past, for the present, and we hope will in the 
future. We shall then be able to clasp each others' 
hands, and be united forever. Longingly do we hope for 
that day, when conditions shall be such as will allow us 
to say with Alfred Austin, Poet Laureate of England-— 

"Yes, this is the voice that I hear 

On the bluff March gale, 
'Tis a proud, free hand calHng loud 
To a band, both proud and free. 
And it says to them, 'We severed have been too long ; 

Now, let us forget the worn-out tale. 
The tale of an ancient wrong. 

And our friendship will last, longer than love doth last.' 
And be stronger than death is strong, 
Then, fling them out to the breeze, 

The shamrock, thistle, and rose, 
And the Star-Spangled Banner unfurl with these 

A message to friends, to foes. 
AVhenever the messengers of peace are seen, 
\Vhcic\ cr the war-winds blow." 



DOING THINGS WELL. 2J 



IS \VHATE\'ER IS WORTH DOING, WORTH 
DOING WELL? 

What difference will it make a hundred years from 
now how this is done? The answer will depend upon the 
nature of the act under discussion. If this be of great 
importance to the nation, or to the world at large, there 
can. be but one reply. Did Lincoln take half-hearted 
measures wdien he issued and enforced the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation? But acts tliat are in themselves of 
such moment are not recjuired of most men. 

W'hat we do is usually a stepping-stone — a foundation 
for future efforts. There are people who spend all their 
time in getting ready to work and who never have time 
to begin. They give too much energy to the tool. But 
this class is small. In these hurried times when the pre- 
vailing desire is to get rich, most men regard too much 
of their preparation as mere expedient — something done 
to serve only just for its time. They desire to acquire 
sudden wealth without paying for it a legitimate price in 
labor and they strive to get out of work ten times more 
than it is worth. The common disposition to-day is to 
shirk hardships and all responsibility that does not lead 
to immediate and showy results. Yet most of the acts 
of our lives are in their outcome of great importance 
either to ourselves, to the community or to posterity. 

"The child is the father to the man." How often this 
statement is presented, without a true realization as to its 
meaning. The child shows inclinations and dispositions. 



28 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

as it prows older they develop more fully, and when 
manhood is reached, he takes up just these inclinations 
to gain his living. Isn't it in the first place the parent s 
dutv to encourage habits of industry and thoroughness, 
and encourage them to their fullest extent so as to 
make him firmly believe that, "whatever is worth doing, 
is worth doing well"? . 

If the merchant desires trade, he must advertise, and 
a voung man who begins business without money or 
influence must establish for himself a character as wel 
as a trade. His gains are necessarily small at hist, but 
in time he will make for himself such a reputation as to 
tide over hard times, and occasional losses. The business 
habits that he will acquire will make him careful m 
investments and wise in the use of his income. ^ Such a 
man can realize that "what is worth doing, is worth 
doino- well." But one who starts in business with a cap- 
ital finds that this takes the place of long industry, for 
he is able to buy a well built-up trade, which is the 
result of many years of closest attention to details. Ihis 
man may not appreciate this maxim until his business is 
wrecked and it is too late. 

Of course, it is a pleasant thing to live under prosper- 
ous circumstances and to have leisure, that is,^ to have 
nothing to occupy our spare moments but enjoyment; 
but this pleasure cannot exist except when surroundings 
are the result of worthy exertions. 

Day in and day out, man works. Though it is not for 
the love of labor, it is for the comfort that labor gives. 
These are not results of poor work, but of vigorous 
exertions Is the man who cares nothing for the way 
thin-s go on-whether the result be good or poor, a 



DOING THINGS WELL. 29 

delegate for an easy future? Can he gain the blessings 
of life? No! for he is not entitled to them. 

What makes the silks from China, the cloths from 
England and Germany and laces from Switzerland so 
famous? It is not the result of half-done work, but the 
knowledge of the weaver and spinner that, ''Whatever is 
worth doing, is worth doing v/ell," that develops such 
beautiful results of skill. 

Do not we, as Americans, go on, day by day, doing 
things in a slipshod way, finishing our duty in the easiest 
manner, letting this slide through, and that go to ruin, 
instead of exerting our energies and making this an 
ideal country? 

The resources of this land are being used up rapidly, 
and Vv^ith great waste; though the result may be satis- 
factory to the individual, posterity must suffer unless a 
change is made. A part of the damage can never be 
repaired. Some of our native birds, animals and plants 
are almost extinct. The climate of Minnesota, Michigan 
and Wisconsin has bej:ome windy and dr}^, more like 
that of the Dakotas, through the felling of our great, 
natural forests. These facts may not predominate now, 
but add another century to our history's record, and 
what will be the result? 

Every man owes a duty to his successor as well as to 
himself and his neighbor. One may not do what he will 
with his own, for the gifts of this world are loans to be 
well used and kept uninjured. There is not a single 
good in any instance that can be secured without a sac- 
rifice that corresponds to its value, and there is never a 
good action that does not reward or at any rate wait to 
reward one's expenditures. 

Do not look about too much for the reward's proverb. 



30 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

If your undertakings are worth doing at all, they are 
worth doing well, and one's self-interest as the best pro- 
moter in such cases and tasks. 

"Well worthy and well done acts, like well done 
meals, are easy to digest." Circumspection and care, 
even in the smallest matter, are necessary, for a little 
neglect may make a great difference in the results. 



^\ULD-LANG-SYNE." 31 



^'\ULD-LAXG-SYXE." 



We are always being sermonized about the days of 
"Aitld-Lang-Syne" — the olden times of perfection, when 
sermons were preached for love, not praise; when poli- 
ticians worked for patriotism, not glory; when news- 
papers were published for truth, not money; when 
women cared not for fashion, but domestic joys; and 
men gave up horse races for the society of their wives; 
and in fine, when the whole world w^as well and good 
and nothing bad existed. 

These croakers stand on the ^'Night's Plutonian 
Shores" and mutter their talk of a day that is past and 
done, with the patience of Poe's raven — moaning his 
unchanging "Never-More." They throw stones of unfor- 
giving ridicule at our advances in science and inventions, 
and call them ''War against Nature;" our comforts and 
luxuries as enemies to physical and mental development, 
and they are constantly sighing for those pleasant days 
of old. O, yes — 

"Those pleasant days of old, which so often people praise, 
True, thev wanted all the luxuries that grace our modern days, 
Bare floors were strewn with rushes — 
The walls let in the cold, 

Oh! how they must have shivered in those pleasant days of 
old." 

Pleasant it may have been to travel in the slow coach, 
or languid sailing vessel; but vre prefer to sail from one 
side of the continent to the other or cross oceans on the 
wings of steam. How tedious must have been their 
anxious v/aiting for the post-boy's long delayed arrival. 



32 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

We prefer the modern mail which brings us yesterday's 
billet-doux; and the telegraph with electric flash or the 
telephone's magnetic voice; the telegraph binding us 
to continents and relieving our minds at noon as to how 
Europe views an international event or how our Presi- 
dent and Congress have concluded in matters of great 
importance. 

The newspapers of those days were but records of 
gossip, which had grown old when it was published. 
News ran then from mouth to mouth; the post-boy 
brought it to the groups collected round the country 
store; gossiping tongues carried it, and finally it reached 
the heavy Gazette. The papers of to-day are mirrors of 
the world of fact and thought. Before we eat our break- 
fast, our hearts are throbbing with those of the great 
world, as we read the chronicle of yesterday's doings, and 
the predictions of great minds for the future. In our 
individual world, no matter how small, interest is keen, 
and from the newspaper we learn its gossip and traffic; 
its joys and woes; and all to this messenger feel in- 
clined — 

'To its faults a little blind , 
To its virtues, very kind." 

Welcome are they to the narrowness and harshness of 
a religion — the sore evil of Vvhich Heaven has sent sci- 
ence, laws, and culture, to broaden and deepen; and 
soft-voiced ministers to expand with an ounce of sugar 
to the pounds of salt. 

Welcome are they to a code of social ethics, which 
prescribed to a woman that the reward of all her exist- 
ence; the arena of all her accomplishments; the con- 
ditions of all her ambitions must be matrimony. Few 
thanks are due to all the talk and blarney of platform 



"AULD-LANG-SYNE." 33 

oratory; nor to the screams or protests for woman's 
rights that this condition has been aboHshecl. But to the 
progress of a generous age, which puts education into 
the head of a woman, making her alert, self-reliant and 
capable; bracing her up to bear life's ills undaunted, 
must we give the credit. If the true knight comes to. 
mieet such enamoring one — should she be skilled in 
bookkeeping, wise in astronomy or learned in Latin, 
she will be none the less, a helpm.ate and companion 
than the woman whose greatest ambition is to wash and 
scrub and bake and mend, or that other whose highest 
aim is to m.ake a cherry-pie, and have lily-Vv^hite hands. 
To all these vaunted pleasures they are twice and 
thrice welcome. Nor do we concede that the w^orld has 
gone all astray. There may be more crime, more folly, 
more general demoralization because there are more 
people. And in exact proportion has there been an 
increase of goodness, wisdom and everything right. 

"We think not, those of old 
Were better men than now, 
Of more ingenious brow. 
We heed not those who pine for force 

A ghost of time to raise; 
As if they thus could check the course 

Of this progressive age." 

I propose a sacred truce and a reverend bow to mem- 
ories of ''Auld-Lang-Syne" and a ringing toast to the 
poet who said — 

"O those blessed times of old with their chivalry and strife, 
I love to read their chronicles which such brave deeds relate. 
I love to sing their ancient rhymes — to hear their legends told, 
But Heaven be thanked! I lived not in those blessed times of 
old." 



34 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



GROWTH. 

"The development of a soul; little else is worth study." 

In that quiet moment in early morning before the sim 
has come and while the night still lingers, there comes to 
one a feeling of awe; he seems standing in the presence 
of a Miracle. The dawn of a new creation is about to 
take place before him. He knows not wdiat shall come 
out of the shadow. All nature seems subdued as one 
might fancy it w^as when its Maker breathed upon it His 
approval in creation's dawn. The birds and beasts seem 
to partake of this dim religious feeling. Eternity seems 
near. Heaven lies all about us. A mean thought is 
impossible as one watches the stars hastening back into 
the purity of their eternal home, while the damp veil is 
softly shifting to reveal the tear-stained face of mother 
earth. 

Yesterday was; to-day is not. It comes a new crea- 
tion — a new wonder. We glance at the past; we do not 
read it. Even when we hold the present in our hand we 
fix our eyes on the future. The day comes; the world 
is already old; men are as they were yesterday, only 
worse. 

But night approaches, and if you go out on a level 
prairie or down to the water's edge you shall feel again 
something you experienced in that holy moment that was 
neither night or day. Or, again what is there in the time 
of the return of birds and in the budding of the trees 
that makes the most delightsome part of the year? The 
dull monotony of Winter is changed into a time of infi- 



GROWTH. 35 

nite surprise. Spring's bright children come creeping 
lip through the earth; as yet there is no notice of what 
they will become. Is it a rose or only a briar? Is it a 
pansy or a weed? Shall its fruit be sweet or bitter? 

That which we experience in the early morning', at 
evening, and in beholding the new creation that each 
JMay-time brings, in admiring the beauties that the Great 
Artist produces in the foliage with his frost brush, in 
watching the look of wonder and of perfect faith that 
shines out of the child-eyes, that feeling of dread, of 
awe, of subdued hope that fills our hearts in the presence 
of the mystery of death (the other and larger half of life) 
— all of this is but a declaration that we will never be 
satisfied with dull monotony, with stagnation, with a set- 
tled condition. To stand still is to die. Life is move- 
ment, is an on-going, and out-going and upw^ard-going. 

If there is anything that fascinates us it is to watch 
tlie development of something. A small cottage, yes, 
a log house, has more of charm for us while in process of 
erection than the stately block completed; one glance 
suffices and we eagerly turn to something new. 

The flower in the bud is more beautiful than the full 
blovv-n rose; no more of surprise as to what its color, its 
shade, its perfume is to be; it is complete. The great 
thought of science in these times is the universal reign 
of law of growth. Growth is change, is development, 
is mystery; hence our attraction to whatever is in the 
plastic, the formative state. This thought can be traced 
in the development of science, in the study of history, in 
the growth of literature, in the study of religion, in the 
rise and decline of institutions, and in the lives of indi- 
viduals. 

What is the reason that nations have risen to a certain 



36 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

height and then have dedined? Is it not to be found in 
their disregard for this law of growth? Revolutions 
never happen in progressive governments; they cannot. 
But where statesmen are bent on preserving the tradi- 
tions of their country, where they are seeking to build a 
higher and diviner hedge about any institution they can 
be sure that the only real divinity has long since flown. 
There is alv^^ays something more in the unwritten con- 
stitution than men have been able to frame into words. 
\¥e are only law-abiding men when we have respect 
unto the higher law. Creeds are never written until men 
have begun to grow cold in heart. Looking closer we 
see that this general law of growth, of development, 
applies to political parties. In England there are two 
great parties, one the Conservative whose eyes are ever 
set towards the past, who never come forward except as 
they are pushed forward by the Liberal party. And 
should a time come when the party in power shall cease 
to be affected by the liberal ideas it is only a question 
of time before this spirit of man, which is ever advancing, 
will burst out in revolution. In our own country when a 
party, as the old Whig party, can no longer keep pace 
with the times it must give way to the Republican party. 
But this party is no divinity; it has no perpetual claim 
upon the sufferance of men. It found the constitution 
a sacred instrument, but not so sacred that it might not 
be changed, amended and added to. While the Repub- 
lican party represents the youth, the conscience and 
certain great moral principles, while it looked to the 
future rather than to the past, while it was a synonym of 
liberty, equality and a larger life, it commanded our 
interest, our sympathy, our support. But when it grew 
timid, corrupt and cowardly, its strength and its beauty 



GROWTH. 37 

were gone. When it no longer beckoned us to advance 
but bade us stand still, when it pointed to the past 
proudly vaunting its record, but had no word for our 
present greatest need, we turned from it. We love it 
for what it v/as, but we will not follow a ghost though he 
conjure wath the names of Lincoln and Grant. 

Turn again, if you please, to the history of religious 
movements; we hear little of tradition, usage, custom, 
creeds and standards of authority while they are real 
movem.ents. 

Only when men have lost their enthusiasm for work 
and begin to doubt the divinity of their call, do they 
begin to build hedges to shut in the truth, and not infre- 
quently succeed only in shutting God out. 

Look, if you will, at two or three men who have 
exerted a powerful and unique influence upon the 
thought of England and America : Take two characters 
very unlike, F. W. Robertson, of Brighton, and Henry 
Ward Beecher, of America. In what consisted their 
charm? Was it not in this — that they w^ere growing 
men, ever ready to w^elcome any new^ truth regardless as 
to whether it fitted decorously into their intellectual fur- 
nishings or not? Does not some of the interest that 
attaches to these men arise from the fact that some of 
the time they walked in the shadow? 

Was there not in their soul struggles something 
strangely fascinating, something invigorating? Do we 
not love them because of their doubts? Is there not 
something in the struggling man that draws us to him? 

These men have not settled theology in the sense that 
they had gone the wdiole round of creation, and had com- 
passed into their head or heart completest truth. But to 
them the world w^as ever new% the voices of inspiration 



3^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

have not forsaken men. The Bible but a text book. 
Christ and truth are not to be shut between its Hds, but 
are ever seeking to break forth. Such men have no set- 
tled creed, for they are continually reviewing, amending, 
striking out or adding to, — in fact they are living up to 
the demands of the hour. 

But in literature is the tendency seen in as marked a 
way as anywhere. When Pope would write his best 
thought he took Man as his subject, treated him as a 
finished being and proceeded to analyze him as one 
would a finished piece of machinery. 

To-day great poets do not take humanity for their 
subject; they have grown wiser and more modest. 

They in the true scientific spirit take man, then a day 
out of his life and study it, trying as best they can to see 
how he came into the condition in which he now is, but 
as he is a man poets pronounce no final judgment upon 
him, but content themselves with studying his present 
mood, watching his actions under given circumstances, 
always leaving room for the play of deep and subtle influ- 
ences which may not be visible even to the keen eyes of 
poets. 

The great exponent of this truth, the prophet, poet, 
king in the literature of our day was Robert Browning, 
the soul's interpreter. 

"The secret of life in Browning is inspiration toward the unat- 

tained." 
"The one tragedy of life is arrested development." 
"Growth or degeneration, these are the two eternal facts." 
"We judge by reach, not grasp." 
"What I aspired to be and was not, comforts me." 
" 'Tis not what man does which exalts him, but what man would 

do." 
"I say a man was made to grow ; not stop." 



GROWTH. 39 

"Man knows partly, but conceives beside, creeps ever on from 

fancies to fact." 
"Finds progress man's distinctive mark alone, 
Not God's and not the beasts' ! God is, they are, 
Man partly is and wholly hopes to be." 
"You must fix some uncertainty with faith if you would have 
faith be." 

"As it was better youth should strive through acts uncouth 
Toward making, than repose on aught found made ; 
So better age, exempt 
From strife, should know then tempt 
Further Thou waited age ; 
Wait death nor be afraid." 

"Grow old along with me ; 
The best of life is yet to be 
The last of life, for which the first was made : 
Our times are in His hand 
Who saith : A whole I planned 
Youth shows but half; trust God, see all, nor be afraid!" 

"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, 
Or what's a heaven for ?" 



40 ESSATS AND ORATIONS. 



RUINS. 

Among the most important ruins are those of Nineveh, 
an ancient city of Asia. This city we are told was in 
the days of its prosperity ''An exceeding great city," and 
the ruins seem to prove the truth of this statement. The 
buildings as revealed by the ruins Vv^ere of great beauty 
and value, the remains of many costly temples and 
palaces being found there. 

One of these palaces, which was of particularly impos- 
ing appearance, had an audience chamber where the 
king attended to the wants of his subjects in person. 
The entrance to this room was guarded by two gigantic 
alabaster lions. The floor was paved with blocks of 
alabaster on which the deed and exploits of the king 
were recorded, and the walls were covered with pictures 
of various descriptions, a part of them representing 
the scenes through which the illustrious men of the state 
had passed, while the rest were religious scenes. 

The general design of these illustrations seems to have 
been to keep in the minds of the people the glory of their 
ancestors and the power of their gods. IMany an other- 
wise silent page of the world's history is recorded in its 
ruins. 

The antiquarian reads these fragments of history as 
easily as he would a printed page. He sees in the 
remains of tools and the way in which the houses were 
constructed how far the people had advanced in the art 
of architecture; judging from the materials used, he can 
form an estimate of the wealth of the people, and so pn 



RUINS. 41 

until he has made out their history. Thus a nation's 
ruins construct its monument. 

But there is another kind of ruins much nearer and 
of more importance to us. I refer to human ruins. 
These are innumerable and met with on every side. They 
may be classed, according to their nature, into natural, 
which is caused by old age, and unnatural, as caused by 
disobedience to som.e law of our being. These two occur- 
ring in old age and caused by the decay both of body 
and mind, which is sure to come upon us all sooner or 
later. And what could be a grander sight than that of 
an old man nearly through with life's battle? He has 
fought successfully, and is even now fighting with the 
strongest antagonist he has ever had to contend with. 
But this time the victory will be against him. First, the 
senses become dull, the ear does not report what it 
hears, nor the eye what it sees. As a consequence of 
his not being accurately informed concerning the things 
going on about him he loses interest in external affairs. 
As his mind must have something to keep it busy he 
turns naturally to those things which happened when he 
did take an interest in things about him. He may be 
said to exist in the present, and to live in the past. 

But while the other class of ruins is far different, they 
occur at a time of life when all should be animation and 
vigor. If we overtax any of our bodily organs, ruined 
health is the result; if the mental powers are misused 
mental ruin is the result. Besides the body and mind 
are so connected that if one is affected the other soon 
becomes affected also. 

A person starting in business has a certain capital, 
and his success depends upon the way in which he man- 
ages his capital If he uses it well and economically 



42 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

he has every prospect of gaining the greatest success; 
on the other hand if he is extravagant and a poor mana- 
ger, ruin in business is sure soon to overtake him. 

Thus it is with man. He starts out in hfe with certain 
endowments and talents as his capital for the manage- 
ment and improvement of which he is responsible, and 
just according to the way in which he uses them, will 
he be either 'The good and faithful or the wicked and 
slothful servant." 

The worst enemies a man has to meet with in the 
effort to lead a right and successful life are his own pas- 
sions and desires. These are apt at nearly all times to 
i;uggest enjoyments to him; they are always ready to 
point out a way apparently more pleasant and easy than 
that in which he is going. At first he yields in some 
little thing which will apparently do no harm; but by 
this once yielding the way is opened for the second and 
then the third; and so on until he suddenly wakes to 
find himself an abject slave, driven about like a ship 
without a rudder, by the chance winds of his passions 
and desires. 

The murderer commenced by giving way to his pas- 
sions in the little vexations of life, they each time gaining 
strength until, at last, in a moment of intense passion he 
committed the act which ruined his life. 

We all, without doubt, have our plans formed for the 
future; and while we may not all have planned struc- 
tures by means of which we expect to become famous, 
yet we all should plan the invisible framework of char- 
acter. May the material of which it is composed be the 
best and may it be held together by the nails of pure 
motive and noble purpose. 

Ideals of some nature, we each of us hold dear; yet 



RUINS. 43 

we know by experience that the reality is never equal to 
the ideal, the one is perfect, the other only real; yet men 
believe that in the realization of their hopes there is 
found contentment, yes, happiness. 

Failure is more than some men can endure. Vv'hen a 
soul is concentrated into one great hope, and the heart 
excitedly beats at the proximity of the real, if then, oh! 
then the reality falls far away from the cherished ideal, 
the realization of failure shakes the frail human structure 
and men stand heartsick in contemplation of their shat- 
tered heart's desire, bev/ildered with disappointment 

forsaken by their hopes. Too often we look upon such 
cases as ruins, but no, they are not ruins. Good has 
been done through results as far from the anticipated 
ones. 

Happy is he who, when experiencing such a reality, 
sees arising from these so-considered ruins strong, 
fresh hopes, encircling a more ennobling ideal than tJiat 
which is lost in the great forever; who can "rise on the 
stepping-stones of his dead self to higher things." 

We should be taught wisdom by our failures and those 
of others. They stand as lighthouses on many of the 
dangerous points of life warning of breakers on which 
lives may be wrecked. Some one well said 

"Our failures oft are very friends 

Success spring from defeat. 
Reward its honored title brings 
To those who never know retreat. 

Our efforts, failures, though they be, 

Are valued by a higher Power. 
They help complete the harmony 

Of life's momentous hour." 



44 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Every one should have a work to do and after select- 
ing some objects worthy of attainment work toward them 
with unswerved purpose. Many who have gained the 
object of their efforts have had to toil for years. The 
labor involved nor the possibility of misnomered ruins 
should not deter any one from attempting lofty aims. 
It is the ruins one makes of himself or of his unrighteous 
attempts that are the only real ruins. 



THE DANDELION'S WORK, 45 



THE DANDELION'S WORK. 

The pretty golden-headed dandehon is one of Nature's 
quiet and persistent workers. It rises early in the spring 
and with a hardy root and a little brown fold of leaves 
to start with, it begins its silent competition with the 
grasses. It sends out many little rootlets in all directions 
as fresh help for the work underground and unfolds 
the long, many-toothed leaves above ground to be the 
sunshine, moisture and air-gatherers. 

The work is done in a very easy manner. Each part 
takes its particular work as a "matter of course." When 
it rains the sunshine gatherers patiently rest while the 
rootlets strive to take in all the food that the water brings 
them. But when the sunshine comes again the leaves 
stretch forth to obtain all that it will give them, and 
perhaps in honor of the event the stem will introduce the 
little green bud that has been waiting with folded hands 
for the arrival of the sunshine. 

If on that festal day the bud has the good fortune to 
be presented, she will begin to make, with the aid of her 
quiet workmen, a soft, elaborate dress, in color a beauti- 
ful yellow, chosen in honor of the sun's recognition. 
Dressed in her pretty new gown she is called a flower, 
and is said to be very much more beautiful than her 
fellow-workmen, who always vv^ear dark green. 

She wastes no timic, however, but silently assembles a 
band of little helpers, who are attired in downy white 
suits, and begins to prepare them for taking her place, 
when her yellow dress becomes brov/n with age. 



46 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Although they are her usurpers, she works for them con- 
stantly. 

The whole plant aids this band of downy white work- 
men and when they have risen to the plane of the fading 
flower, the plant sends them out to new bands, giving to 
each one enough capital to start a new dandelion estab- 
lishment. The plant then turns the attention of his old 
workmen to the preparation of new dresses for the ris- 
ing buds that wish to be presented before July, the close 
of the season. 

When the last bud has been acknowledged and the 
last band of white workmen has been dispatched to 
other grounds, the plant allows his assistants to work 
for themselves and to lay away in the root as much 
food as they wish that they may enjoy the well-earned 
rest during the winter. 

They spend their winter's sleep in the ground and 
when the next spring comes all are ready to rise early. 
The new year begins in a very encouraging way, for 
besides the old plant there is a large number of new 
dandelion establishments that are holding their first 
grand opening. 

The old plant is pleased with his success and cannot 
help but think of the time when his flower will be favor- 
ite, when there will be no room for grass to grow between 
the flourishing dandelions, and when each plant will 
have lowered his flower stalks till not even a lawn mower 
can injure the workmen that wear the downy suits. 



"ICH DIEN." 47 



"ICH DIEN." (I SERVE.) 

At the close of the battle of Crecy, the result of the 
conflict was to be seen in the hosts of the dead and dying- 
Bohemians scattered over a battle-field almost saturated 
with the blood of its victims. As the Black Prince, then 
only a lad of sixteen, passed over the field, he came upon 
the king of Bohemia lying slain among his followers. 
This old sovereign was blind and had gone into the bat- 
tle-field with his horse tied to those of tw^o trusted 
knights. The humble, yet splendid motto, 'Teh Dien," 
'T Serve," attracted the attention and won the admira- 
tion of the Black Prince, who adopted it for his own, 
and it has been handed dowai to the present Prince of 
Yv^'ales. What a g-rand serving was this of the blind old 
king! His love of people and country must have been 
very strong to impel him to go into battle without being 
able even to guide his own horse. 

All down the ages, we find just such heroes of the 
world in quite the same manner, but history's page shows 
many as noble. Comparatively few have distinguished 
tliemselves on the battle-field, not many where the mul- 
titude has seen and applauded; but many have uncon- 
sciously and unperceived honorably performed their part 
in the world's work. Through a kindness done, a word 
spoken, or a high standard upheld, they have influenced 
others for good. These, in turn, have extended similar 
services to others, and so it has passed on and on until 
the impetus to usefulness of some great soul may be 
traced back to the apparently trifling act performed so 
long before. Each of these persons were necessary. His 



4B ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

work would have remained undone, had he neglected it, 
and the resulting would have been imperfect. He would 
have fitted no other sphere so well as his own. 

Work is ennobling, but if all our motives are selfish 
ones, nothing worth striving for is accomplished. Life 
would hardly be worth living, if our thoughts were for 
ourselves. All the beauty in nature was made for our 
enjoyment, so our actions should be for the good of 
those around us. The present alone is ours, and wasted 
opportunities are never presented to us again. 

Every one should have some work to do, and after 
selecting some object worthy of attainment, work for 
that alone. We may start at the lowest step, but if our 
chosen occupation will bring us at last to a higher one, 
we need not be discouraged. Many of those who have 
gained the object of their labors worked years for it. 

We must rise above our work, would we have it cease 
to be drudgery. We find that this is what our best 
writers, statesmen, politicians, mechanics and inventors 
have done, themselves our most cheery, entertaining 
people. There is such a thing as faculty for extracting 
pleasure from the most prosaic circumstances. If one is 
called upon to do humble work, it should be his aim to 
ennoble the work, rather than drag his nature down to 
its level. Christ was a carpenter, but He was also a 
King. 

Every one has, at some time, a desire to do some- 
thing that will be f©r the good of humanity. When in 
the presence of noted people, or when we stand before 
the life-long work of some genius, how intense is our 
desire to do something by which we may be remem- 
bered. It is an old and oft-quoted proverb that **Where 
there's a will, there's a way." Though the way be beset 



"ICH DIEN." 49 

with difficulties, and progress seems almost impossible, 
yet, by overcoming those obstacles that be nearest, a 
way through the others may be opened. 

If we are not watchful, under the impulse of these 
ardent yearnings, days will be filled with day-dreaming 
and castle-building, and will glide silently by, leaving 
behind them a long procession of little deeds that might 
have been done, and which are, in reality, the small links 
which would have formed a pow^erful chain. 

Few of all those whom we term great took up their 
work merely because it promised wealth; neither did 
they achieve their success by spasmodic toil. Few but 
whose impetus Vv'as the desire for the well-being of their 
fellow-men. Their noblest deeds were performed when 
thought of self was entirely absent. They were obliged 
to struggle on patiently and painfully against all kinds of 
obstacles and discouragements. But they were victori- 
ous at last! 

We cannot all be Joans of Arc, Shakespeares, Lin- 
colns, Edisons, John B. Goughs, or Clara Bartons, but 
we may be true men and w^omen, doing with our might 
what we can do, and leaving the rest for some one who 
has the requisite qualifications. 

The test to be appHed in a decision as to the merits of 
an industry for a life work is the question whether it 
will be instrumental in strengthening one's own char- 
acter, inspiring others, or helping humanity. 

The possibility of leading an honest, noble, useful life, 
which, without anything further, would be a success, is 
as much within the reach of the humblest toiler as of 
the king on his throne. Most of the failures in life are 
due to the lack of interest in one's work. The person is 
driven by his v/ork instead of driving his work. What 



50 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

he lacks is enthusiasm. Some one has ably defined this 
as a "fire of solid old hickory or anthracite, which makes 
the steam which makes the power that draws the pon- 
derous train and all the people after it.'' That which is 
commonly called personal magnetism is, in truth, only 
enthusiastic treatment of the subjects which present 
themselves. Undeniably it is the characteristic of great- 
ness and power. 

We cannot hope to grasp all there is to life in our few 
years. Time can be taken only for the essential things. 
Exertion should be put forth only for the accomplish- 
ment of that which will result in the most permanent 
good for the greatest number. We find that we cannot ^ 
lead an individual existence; that we are of a great mul- j 
titude, each of whom is dependent upon brother man not ' 
only for his existence, but also for his happiness. Hencej 
the more we do for others, the more shall Vv^e receive inj 
return, whether it be of good cheer, pecuniary assistance/ 
or personal protection. 

vSince our lives possess such a great influence over 
those of others, how important it is that we should do 
our best, measuring our success by the services we are 
able to render to others. 

There are a feAV persons who seemingly delight in 
being miserable, but most people desire to be happy. 
True happiness may only be obtained through the 
medium of usefulness, making our chief aim in life not 
the furtherance of our own selfish interests, but the 
advancement of our brother's welfare. 

In whatever position one is placed, whether "on the 
heights" or "in the valley," if one would enjoy life he 
must work, if not with his hands, then with his eyes, 
his mind and his heart. 



THE EYES WE LOOK THROUGH. 51 



THE EYES WE LOOK THROUGH. 

The mind lias more ways of seeing than with the eye; 
that would not be sufficient. That it may perceive an 
object, it must know all of its qualities. Sight may reveal 
many, but it is imipossible for it to reveal all. One of the 
most exquisite qualities of the rose — fragrance — would 
never be known to us, were it not for the sense of smell. 
The sm.oothness or roughness of an object is revealed 
alone by the touch; the harmony of music by the sense 
of hearing; and the dehciousness of fruit, by the taste. 
Thus it is shovrn that the eyes we use, when looking at 
material forms, are the senses; and God in His infinite 
wisdom has given us but five. 

When I speak of all the qualities of objects, it is in a 
limited way; for who shall say that there are not num- 
berless qualities of which we have no knowledge, because 
Vv-e, through these senses, are not capable of perceiving 
them? 

There may be, even now, just above us, floating in 
the air, cherubs with forms radiant with the glory of 
heaven, and with faces which sin and sorrow have never 
defiled. But we see them not, for our eyes are dimmed. 
They may, upon their golden harps, produce most 
exquisite strains of maisic, of which our dull ears catch 
not the slightest sound. The air in which they float may 
be most heavily laden with the sweetest of perfume, and 
they may taste and feel such perfect joy and happiness 
as we cannot conceive. Is it not reasonable to suppose 
that when we have done with the thing^s of this world. 



52 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

and have learned from them the lessons our Heavenly 
Father would teach, that one of the joys of Heaven will 
be the quickening of ourselves? For you know that John, 
in the book of Revelation, says that when he was caught 
up into heaven he heard such things as is not even 
lawful for man to utter, and that it is hardly possible 
for us, with our v/eak imaginations, to form a definite 
idea of the New Jerusalem, with its twelve gates and 
beautiful walls, its golden streets, and the pure river of 
the water of life, clear as crystal. 

But the mind perceives more than mere material 
forms. With that part of the reflective faculty known as 
intuition, it perceives truths and relations. Imagination 
reveals the ideal which is unlike all that existed or does 
exist. The mind sees with memory the past, with all its 
joys and sorrows. Hence, when looking above mere 
material forms, the eyes we use are the faculties of the 
mind. 

But ideas and opinions differ. To me a certain object 
may appear beautiful; to you, homely. I attribute one 
cause to an event; you, another. I think a given course 
of conduct right; you may think it wrong. Is there 
anything to account for these differences? If so, what is 
it? Are your ideas and opinions right, and mine all 
wrong, or are mine right, and yours wrong? What shall 
be taken as the standard? 

Perhaps, by looking- into the origin of opinions and 
ideas, we may find answers tO' some of these questions. 
We are placed in this world of birds, flowers, trees, etc., 
with eyes, and it is the business of these eyes to look 
out and gather material upon v/hich our judgment and 
reason are based. Now, many things necessarily affect 
these conclusions, such as education, culture, social habit, 



THE EYES WE LOOK THROUGH. 53 

and surrounding circumstances. As it is impossible for 
all to enjoy the same privileges and to be surrounded by 
the same circumstances, it would seem that from the 
beginning it was expected that we should not agree. 

These eyes are like the talents which were given to 
the servants; they will increase by use, in ability, if not 
in number. But if we, like the unprofitable servant, shut 
them up, they will remain weak. It is to be remembered 
that the master, on his return, did not comm.end the one 
that had gained five talents more than the one who had 
gained tv\-o. 

There is still another set of eyes, very important, yet 
dift^ering greatly from those already mxcntioned. Every 
person, young or old, rich or poor, looks through one 
or more of these, and each one has his choice out of all 
the set, and if at any time he becomes dissatisfied with 
his choice, he can change; but sometimes it is very hard 
to change, especially where he has used one for a long 
time. The names of these eyes are prejudice, envy, 
jealousy, faith, hope and love. A person who looks 
through the eyes of prejudice has a very limited vision, 
"is his sight is darkened and hedged in, on this side and 
that, by his own tlieories, and he will not look beyond 
them. He seems to be perfectly satisfied with this miser- 
able way of seeing. Envy and jealousy are generally 
found together, and how discontented and unhappy is he 
who looks through these; what a contrast his life pre- 
sents to the cheerful and contented appearance of him 
who looks through faith and love ! 

But the best eyes of all are the eyes of love — the love 
which, St. Paul says, "suf^ereth long, and is kind; envieth 
not; doth not behave itself unseemingly; is not puffed 
up; seeketh not her own; is not easily provoked; think- 



54 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

eth no evil; rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things; 
hopeth all things; endnreth all things; the love Vv'hich 
never faileth." 

Notwithstanding we have so many eyes, still we see 
only through a dim glass obscurely; but the time is com- 
ing when we shall see fully, and shall know even as we 
are known. 

Millv E. Brandel. 



USES OF BEAUTY. 55 



USES OF BEAUTY. 

Even the thought of a beautiful object is always sweet 
and pleasing. There never was a created thing possessed 
of the elements of beauty that was not of some use to 
some one. 

What a display of surpassing beauty is brought out 
in the varying colors of a summer sunset! Every tint 
seems to reflect to us a beautiful thought. All the red 
and gold and purple seem to heighten the more sombre 
shades and make a picture that, once seen, is never for- 
gotten. And is not this all of use to us? It cheers our 
spirits. It lifts our minds into regions of higher thought. 
We feel less inclined to think of the common, while the 
deeper propensities of our nature are wrought upon, 
and surely it is always useful to us to have our better 
and deeper feelings touched. 

The genuine pleasure that can be drawn from the 
source of beauty in nature is enough to compensate for 
half the trials and sorrows we have to bear. If it could 
be shown to us that our trials and sorrows spring from 
a source of beauty, we would feel reconciled toward them 
and almost invite misery to come to us just for the sake 
of gazing upon it. 

Beauty may have many different effects upon us, vary- 
ing with whatever mood we may be in. Sometimes it 
makes us feel almost ecstatic. We seem to forget every- 
thing but the charm of the beauty that holds us spell- 
bound. Often it tends to make us feel sad and lonely. 
We feel incomplete. We long for something, but we 



56 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

know not what. And again, it makes us feel serene and 
contented. We may look upon a thing of marvelous 
beauty and seem to be quieted and soothed by it. But 
whatever the effect, it is always useful. It never tends 
to degrade or lower us in any way. And though it may 
give us a feeling of quiet melancholy, it is always a mel- 
ancholy that is worthy of our better selves. 

Beauty does not exist solely in forms visible to the 
eye. If such Avcre the case, v/hat a sea of sorrow and 
blackness this world would be to the blind — they who 
never can behold the golden sun or penetrate the 
heavens at midnight, or unfold the secrets that lie hidden 
in a rose. 

Yes, nature possesses other beauties, which they, too, 
can share. And one is the beauty of sound. The song 
of a bird or the murmur of a brook says just as much 
to the sightless as to those of us who can see. And all 
the delicate odors that pervade green nature are just as 
attainable to them as to those who have sight. And Oh! 
the knowledge of beauty that can be conveyed through 
the medium of touch. The very feeling alone often 
indicates a superabundance of beauty. So, even to those 
who cannot behold it, beauty, that balm for every ill, can 
bring a hundred uses and untold charms. 

Beauty seems to carry with it a mute language. When 
we hold a beautiful, trembling rose in our hand, it may 
almost seem for a moment as if it were a being of feel- 
ings and passions like ours. It seems as if we might 
read its thoughts and tell its feelings. 

The flow of a river, that very poetry of motion, is 
another thing that seems to have life and language 
owing to its beauty. 

What a dismal place home would be if no beauty 



USES OF EEAITY. 57 

existed there; even the smallest eottage may be made 
attraetive if adorned outside by pretty lavviis and llower 
gardens, and if inside the walls are decorated with pretty 
pictures and the room filled with modest, tasty furni- 
ture, and, best of all, if the faces of the occupants of 
the cottage are sunny and smiling, for a smile, wherever 
it is, is only a sudden flash of beauty. And it is a thing 
of beauty that has indeed a use when it is reflected across 
the darkened sky of a troubled heart. 

The use of beauty in every home is manifest to all. 
From the humblest cot to the grandest mansion, beauty 
is the soul of attraction. Beauty and love go hand in 
hand. Beauty creates love, and love is impossible with- 
out it. How could we love if there was nothing beauti- 
ful? 

Truth, simplicity and virtue are all deep-hidden 
beauty, and without them and that crowning decoration 
that part of beauty that is visible to the eye, nothing lov- 
able is left. 

We might all be passionless images, mere lumps of 
clay, for all that we could appreciate or feel. When we 
behold anything that we have never seen before, or hear 
a new song or poem, how unfailingly the beautiful steals 
in upon our minds. We judge of its merits more by the 
beauty it contains than by any of its other qualities. It 
is always the dominant feature and makes the deepest 
and most lasting impressions. 

What a great use beauty is in the sick room. The life- 
giving effect of the pretty flowers brings a flush of 
healthful color to the wan, wasted cheek. The perfume 
and out-of-door air that is carried upon the dainty petals 
hasten the recovery of the invalid. 

It is often said that beauty dies with the fading spring 



58 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

and summer, and is wafted away like ''Summer even- 
ing's latest sigh that shuts the roses." But she is inde- 
structible, and lives and blooms again as bright and fair 
as ever. 

And though beauty were only a momentary spark, her 
passing light would still benefit us. When her influence 
was once felt it never could be erased from our lives, 
but would live on, deeply engraved on our hearts — the 
brightest star in our existence. 



WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE BOYS? 59 



WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE BOYS:^ 

The question, Ought girls to know anything? is one 
that has been discussed for centuries, until now we can 
hardly pick up a newspaper without stumbling upon 
some article entitled "What Shall We Do with Our 
Girls?" "The Education of Girls," "Short Talks v/ith 
Our Girls," or something similar, until we are as familiar 
with such productions as editors are with spring poetry. 

The men who write these articles are extremely m.od- 
erate in their demands. They require only that all girls 
should at least have the advantages of a high-school 
education, and at the end of this career should be a 
combination of all the virtues and graces, having a 
healthy body, sound mind, sweet disposition, even tem- 
per and a handsome face. She must be thrifty and intel- 
ligent, perfect housekeeper, excellent cook, needle- 
woman, nurse and a fine laundress. She must also be 
an ornament to society, an active member of literary and 
benevolent societies, and, if thrown upon her own 
resources, capable of excelling in any one of the numer- 
ous occupations open to women. Furthermore, she is 
always expected to have plenty of leisure in which to 
read and cultivate her mind. 

I do not v;ish to insinuate that what is recommended 
for us girls is anything out of the way. Far from it. I 
wish only that we were capable of reaching such an 
ideal; but if we were, where is the boy who could equal 
us? In order that they should not be left behind in the 
race of life, let them be educated up to the same standard 



6o ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

of excellence. I am not willing to admit that the boys 
are in any way, naturally, inferior to girls. 

Considering the question, ''What shall we do with 
the boys?" from the same standpoint that the men write 
on the subject, "What shall we do with the girls?" every 
boy should be his own tailor, hatter, shoemaker, car- 
penter, blacksmith, bricklayer, architect, painter, farmer, 
gardener, merchant, grocer, bookkeeper, clerk, "butcher, 
baker and candlestick-maker." If he has had the advan- 
tage of a college education, he ought to be prepared 
to be his own minister, teacher, doctor and lawyer. In 
the line of amusements he must be his ov/n actor, singer, 
lecturer and circus. He must be a society man and a 
politician, besides fulfilling his duties toward himself 
and family. 

You may not think this just, as there are more occu- 
pations for men than for women, but the extra number 
of vocations assigned to them is reasonable because of 
their great amount of strength — for where is there a 
boy or a man who will not willingly contract the muscles 
in his arms to compare it with any girl's or woman's 
m_uscle? 

It will not hurt the bo3\s to know a very little about 
housework; and suppose they were taught enough so 
that when their mother should vvant to go visiting, they 
could get themselves a lunch without leaving the house 
looking as though a cyclone had passed through it. It 
Vv'ould do them good to knov/ how to sew a little, so 
that if they happen to lose a button, they will not waste 
their inventive genius in rigging up an intricate arrange- 
ment of sticks and strings to hold the wrecked garment 
in its place. 

The worst of all this is that boys seem so lacking in 



WHAT SHALL WE DO WLIH THE BOYS? 6l 

the good sense and judgment upon which they phune 
themselves that they actually take pride in such defi- 
ciencies, and will come to their mothers to have a button 
sewed on. 

Boys, if there be any of you who are preparing your- 
selves for some great Indian fight, go take your revolver 
from its hiding place and lay it carefully in the river. 
Practice gymnastics in some other way than by flourish- 
ing an old, rusty sword of your father's or grandfather's, 
or striking it with your whole strength at some imag- 
inary Indian. Do not think that after reading a fev/ 
dime novels, cleaning the rusty sword, and making a 
knapsack out of carpeting, that you are ready to start 
on your Western Career, where you will perform such 
deeds of bravery that your name wall go rattling down 
the ages, never to be forgotten. Is this what America's 
young apostles ought to be? Boys, you may never see a 
live Indian in your life, except in a side show, or a street 
parade, and it would not be wise for you to attempt to 
kill one of these. So don't waste your time reading such 
trash, but remember that you are the beginning of the 
men that will form the next generation ; and the knowl- 
edge that is in those books will never aid you to decide 
on any great political question. 

Boys should not grow up with the idea that it is in 
any way belittling to learn a trade. Too many boys 
have the idea that they can better satisfy the aspirations 
of their souls by spending their days in measuring prints 
and ribbons, or by scribbling behind a bank counter, than 
by becoming master mechanics, with soiled hands, per- 
haps, but commanding respect and high wages every- 
where. 

Now, neglected and down-trodden boys, arise ! Travel 



62 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

no longer in the dust. We believe you are capable of 
better things. If we follow the scriptural injunction, 
"Be ye not unequally yoked together," then it is impera- 
tive that you should improve yourselves. 

Be not discouraged with comparing yourselves with 
the ideal set before you. Perhaps if you do your best 
to fashion yourselves after this model, future genera- 
tions, in taking up this work, may achieve results which 
you must of necessity fall short of; and while you who 
began this work lie in obscurity, they will blossom forth 
into a glorious manhood. 

For the sake of yourselves, your homes, your country, 
and posterity, I beseech you, think solemnly of these 
things and yourselves. 



WORDS, WORDS, WORDS. 63 



WORDS, WORDS, WORDS. 

Polonius — "What do you read?" 
Hamlet — "Words, vvords, words." 

South tells us that the work of all the six days of 
creation was transacted in so many words; heaven and 
earth and all the host of both, as it were, dropped from 
God's mouth, and Nature itself was but the product of 
a word. The greatest and wisest conceptions that ever 
issued from the mind of man have been couched under 
and delivered in a few close, homelv and sisinihcant 
words. 

Had we lived a few hundred years ago, we might have 
been content to listen to speeches of intricate divisions 
and subdivisions, but in this age of progress it is nec- 
essary that the words we use should be simple, strong 
and expressive. Although we may not think faster than 
did our ancestors, our thoughts are more vivid and 
travel in straight lines. 

The seven wise men of Greece, so famous for their 
wisdom all the world over, acquired that fame, each of 
them, by a single sentence, consisting of two or three 
words. 

The greatest orators of both ancient and modern times 
have been remarkable for their economy of words. 
Demosthenes rarely spoke over thirty minutes; Cicero 
took even less time; and not one of the three leading 



64 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

members of the convention that framed the Constitution 
of the United States spoke over twenty minutes. 

The Americans are said to be more extravagant in 
speech, and to be continually pouring forth "words, 
words, words." Somebody has written: 'Tt would be 
better for all parties if nine in every ten of the winged 
words flying about in this world had their feathers 
clipped amongst men, or even amongst women." 

Matthews says that a boat could be wafted across a 
small lake by the breath expended at the opening of 
a nev/ hotel. 

One of the ways in which v/e recognize the power 
of a single word is in our use of nicknames. A nick- 
namiC is but a pointed way of condensing many thoughts 
in one expression. How well is Pope characterized by 
the epithet, "the wicked v/asp of Twickenham." In 
politics it has long been observed that no man can com- 
pare for a moment in eftect with him who can give apt 
and telling nicknames. 

The first step in overthrovv^ing any great social wrong- 
is to stamp upon it a name expressive of its character. 
It is said that if the HEegro had been called anything 
but slave, had he be^ called simply servant, he would 
probably be in bondage to-day. 

It is acknowledged that it is one of the finest arts to 
be able to combine sense and sound, to be able to express 
one's self by means of pure and elegant words. 'Tis 
said that a blemish may be taken out of a diamond by 
careful polishing, but if one's words have the least blem- 
ish, there is no way to efface it. 

The English language is so extensive that every per- 
son can be the possessor of a good, pure English vocab- 
ulary. 



WORDS, WORDS, WORDS. 65 

Throughout the world, if it were sought, 

Fair words enough a man shall find. 
They be good, cheap ; they cost right nought, 

Their substance is but only wind ; 
But ivell to say, and so to mean, 
That sweet accord is seldom seen." 



Perhaps we may congratulate ourselves that the peo- 
ple of the central part of the United States have the 
reputation of using purer language than the people in 
any other part of the United States. 

The greatest conversationalist is he who ''pleases the 
fancy and the ear, while he informs the understanding; 
lie v^dio gives his ideas clothed with all the beauty of 
expression, but not overcharged w^ith any of its mis- 
placed beauty." 

The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table says: "This 
business of conversation is a very serious matter. There 
are men that it weakens one to talk with an hour, more 
tlian a day's fasting would do." It is true that not one 
man in a million rises to distinction in this art. We are 
judged by the Vv^ords wx use as by the deeds we perform. 
Words so adapt themselves to our needs that a person's 
vocabulary is but an index to his character. 

This is also true of the language of a nation. A peo- 
ple stamp on their language their history, power and 
cliaracteristics. The early Roman shows his simple life 
in his language, but when he became luxurious and cor- 
rupt. Vviih him his language degenerated. The true char- 
acter of the Quaker is shown in his speech, and any 
one would know that the French are vivacious, the Ger- 
mans thoughtful, by their respective modes of expres- 
sion. The English language represents the diversity of 
its people in being the m^ost varied, their advancement in 



66 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

learning in being the most extensive, and their power in 
being the most effective. "It is but a reflection of the 
Anglo-American mind." 

I think James Howell well shows what power is in 
words when he says: 

"Words are the soul's embassadors who go 
Abroad upon her errands, to and fro ; 
They are the sole expounders of the mind, 
And correspondence keep twixt all mankind. 
They are those airy keys that ope (and wrest 
Sometimes) the locks and hinges of the breast. 
By them the heart makes sallies; wit and sense 
Belong to them ; they are the quintessence 
Of those ideas which the thoughts distil; 
And so calcine and melt again ; until 
They drop forth into accents ; which is 
The salt of fancy and all faculties." 

How much better the world would be if all would 
heed the injunction: "Let your words be few and fitly 
chosen, like apples of gold and pictures of silver." 



READING. 67 



READING. 

For physical growth, we must have the nourishment 
afforded by eating and drinking. But the nourishment 
for tlie QTowtli of the mind is reading". 

Reading may be considered as the key which com- 
mands entrance into the various departments of science 
zvivA literature. Among all people of refmement and 
civilization, the most im.portant art is reading. By read- 
ing we knovv' ourselves and our fellow-creatures. We 
know what others are doing, what is transpiring between 
different nations, and, in fact, all that is passing on about 
us. Besides, reading may give many useful subjects for 
conversation, and often prevents quarrehng, silly joking, 
and talking scandal. 

Vv'e should read with method and purpose, and have 
some end to which all studies may point. By hastily 
skipping from one subject to another, we make our- 
selves incapable of combining our ideas. Sabmasius, a 
noted French scholar, who was at one time an honorary 
professor of the University of Leyden, had read as 
much, and perhaps more, than Grotius, a Dutch writer 
of high rank. But, by their different methods, one 
became an enlightened philosopher, and the other a 
pedant, puffed up with useless reading. 

The chief objects people seek when reading are amuse- 
ment and instruction. In the best books, great men 
talk to us and give their thoughts. Each has his char- 
acteristic v/ays and means. 

In poetry, some of the finest traits of civilization are 



68 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

manifested. Without poetry, life would be an endless 
round of duties. Greek poetry has been likened to the 
song of a nightingale. In this Hne of reading care should 
be taken to select poetical and avoid what is verse only. 
There is, perhaps, not the danger in the selection of 
poetical reading that exists in choosing prose produc- 
tions — the tendency to vitiating verse-making not being 
so great as in corrupting prose-writing; then, too, verse 
is less generally read. Time forbids even mention of 
worthy poetical writings, but it is not difficult to find 
them in abundance if one so desires. 

Novels, as a rule, are exponents of superficial knowl- 
edge — ideas set out in a tempting and wordy array; 
but the essential thing is, that they be interesting as 
stories, as it is their aim to amuse. There are many 
exceptions, but to the unguided mind it is almost an 
impossibility to choose from the mass those which may 
possess a true equivalent for the time given their perusal. 
A bad book is the worst of thieves; it robs us of time, 
money and principle. As it is with the body, so it is 
with the mind; the use we make of either of them makes 
it largely what it is. 

It is with books and periodicals as with other articles 
of merchandise — the cheap and worthless are thrust 
upon our notice; but, unlike other merchandise, instead 
of teaching the purchaser their worthlessness, they pro- 
duce an adverse effect. 

A child's school days awaken in him a longing for 
knowledge. Reading comes to satisfy him, and he is 
nourished according to his mental capacity and the 
means he has of gratifying this love. It is said that the 
mind of the child is like a sheet of white paper, on which, 
by education, we can write whatever characters we 



READING. 69 

please. Here is a most dangerous condition. The minds 
of young persons who are unwilling to become, in after 
life, mere machines will be moved, swayed and molded 
by the books they peruse. 

The love of reading, without the proper guidance, 
may become a source of evil, especially to the young. 
But with proper care there need no evil result to any 
one from a reasonable amount of novel reading. Tak- 
ing the volumes bearing the names of Milton, Scott. 
Dickens, George Eliot, Mrs. Browning, and Hawthorne, 
with a few choice volumes now and then from other 
sources, will furnish sufficient reading of this kind for 
even a very active brain. Though there are many at 
present who, from earliest childhood to old age, read 
little else but stories and novels, we can look hopefully 
to the future, as publishers are now putting forth for 
children books of travel and those on various other 
subjects that were form.erly supposed to be adapted only 
to minds more mature. 

The courses of study in our schools are being con- 
stantly raised to higher standards, the number of stu- 
dents is constantly increasing, and we may hope before 
long that our nation will equal the Germ.an in the pro- 
fundity of its literary culture and educational acquire- 
ments, while continuing to surpass it in the attractiveness 
of our literary production of every kind, and in the uni- 
versity of the advanced courses of study. . We shall then 
have learned that the mind does not require sensations to 
be mingled with reading to make it interesting. 



70 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE YOUNG HOUSEKEEPER. 

It often happens that the most important results in 
the natural Avorld are brought about by causes which 
operate silently, if not imperceptibly. Is it not tnie 
that man is most developed, and form.ed, and educated, 
by causes which, fromi their silent operation, seem to be 
ahuost inoperative? Are not those the most el^fective 
educators and teachers of man, after all, whose lessons 
teach him as though they tauglit not? 

If this is true, as it presumably is, does it not behoove 
us to pay more attention to these silent but certain 
springs of human character? liave we nothing to do in 
the way of elevating and purifying, if I may express it, 
the physical, the intellectual, the social, and the moral 
atmosphere in which a child lives, and moves, and 
breathes, and grows, for years before those more direct 
influences can be applied? Have the temperature and 
the purity of the air wdiich a child inhales fifty thousand 
times in twenty-four hours nothing to do in the forma- 
tion of his physical character — nothing to do with the 
health, grov/th and strength of a body nourished by the 
blood which the unceasing ventilating process is 
intended to regenerate and purify? Have not the 
actions, the words, the looks, the thoughts even — for 
little children will sometime? interpret thought and feel- 
ings — of those who are so constantly about us as are our 
parents, but especially the mother, a prodigious influ- 
ence in determining whether we shall be selfish or gen- 



THE YOUNG II0U5EKEEFER. 71 

erous, self-governing or given up to our passions, 
temperate or intemperate, sensual or pure, eartlily or 
spiritual? 

These, then, it is believed, are some of the gentler 
influences — the teachers that seem to teach not — v/ho 
produce, by their never-ceasing operation, the most 
important results. ''Mothers and teachers," says Dr. 
Rush, ''sow the seeds of nearly all the good and evil in 
the world." It is mothers who operate on our whole 
nature. Our whole nature is left to the sole direction 
and disposal of the mother and housekeeper. How 
important, then, is maternal influence! How important 
that mothers should understand this subject. How 
important that they should not only know, but also feel. 
How poorly fitted to sustain the maternal office is she 
who neither knows its dignity nor feels nor heeds its 
responsibilities. 

I think the most efficient school of education is the 
family school; and that the mother, whether wise or 
ignorant, learned or unlearned, healthy or sick, pious 
or impious, is the most efficient educator. 

I hope in my remarks I do not confound the terms 
mother and housekeeper, for I consider them syn- 
onymous in this work. For though servants are admit- 
ted to a family, the mother should still be the mainspring 
of its movements. If she does not perform her own 
labor, she should at least direct others to do it. What she 
knows and believes and feels will promote the general 
and physical welfare of her family should be accomplished, 
whether it be by her own hands or others. For one who 
takes no interest in her housework, this work will not 
prove of interest, and should she acquire ambition 
enough to read at all, it is likely to be the fashionable 



7^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

nonsense of the clay, and not that which aims at utiht}'' 
or public or private happiness. 

I iiave the acquaintance of one honsekeeper who con- 
fided in nie that she did not like honsework, her heart 
v;as not in it; that she sorely disliked the sight of the 
kitchen, especially anything that pertained to cook- 
ery; and, finally, she intimated a determination-to main- 
tain and cherish such opinions, views and feelings 
throughout life. 

But there is an apology for such females in the fact 
tliat they have been educated wrong. They have been 
trained that household duties are quite beneath them, 
and properly belong to the vulgar; but to this erroneous 
idea they involve a life of hardship, pain and drudgery. 
The truth is that there are no labors which arc more 
easy or healthful; and, if properly and promptly con- 
ducted, there are few which give m.ore freedom or leisure 
for recreation and study. 

There are some individuals vvho, for want of plan, 
labor vtwice as hard to effect a given object as others. 
They pass through life in this manner; they arc mere 
drudges, and yet seem to get nothing done. They are 
apt, moreover, to pass through life fretting. Their neigh- 
bors get along so easily, as if life were mere pastime, 
while they— poor unfortunates — must toil on without 
hope or prospect of rehef, except by death. 

I deem it highly desirable, not to say indispensable, 
to every housekeeper to keep her ov/n accounts. Every 
article purchased by the housekeeper, let it be ever so 
small, should every evening be carefully and regularly 
entered. This account should be occasionally reviewed, 
examined and adjusted. In this way the housekeeper 
v/ill not only be acquiring the habit of order, but will at 



THE YOUNG HOTSEKEEPER. 73 

the same time be stud3'ing frugality and economy. The 
principal objection to this duty of a housewife is that it 
consumes time. But if housekeepers conduct their 
labors in the manner they should, they will have ample 
time for keeping accounts. Indeed, I deem it useful for 
all men, women and youth to keep a record of their 
expenses through life, and I believe that if we have 
money to spend and time in which to expend it, we have 
also time enough to make a faithful and legible record 
of its expenditures. 

It is tim.e that this profession, lying as it does, Hke 
agriculture and horticulture, at the foundation of human 
happiness, were disabused, and the vulgar notion that 
it is vulgar or mean discountenanced. It is quite time it 
were taken by wise and discreet mothers into their own 
hands, instead of being committed to those who have no 
interest in it. It is the mother vvho will ever be expected 
to become the intelligent, truly benevolent and skillful 
housekeeper. 

We boast of our literary institutions, our kinder- 
gartens, our common schools, our high schools, our 
institutes, our colleges, and our universities; but what 
is the influence of these — excellent as it may be — com- 
pared v/ith that of the kitchen and parlor? It is in the 
home that our characters are formicd. 

I am astonished that the employment of housekeeping 
should ever be spoken of except in a praiseworthy man- 
ner. Away, then, every unworthy idea concerning 
domestic life. Aw^ay, the feeling that your occupation is 
an inferior one. Fools may call it so; fools have called 
it so. 

One important resolution of the young housekeeper 
should be to keep the house herself. I know many indi- 



74 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

viduals are so situated that they must have additional 
help; but let them not consider it a privilege, but a mis- 
fortune; and let them embrace with joy the first oppor- 
tunity of going back to the simplicity of nature. 

"Order is heaven's first law," says one of the poets; 
and it is, or should be, the first law of that place which, 
properly managed, would, of all places below the sun, 
most nearly resemble heaven. 



ELECTRICITY. 75 



ELECTRICITY. 

Electricity, one great factor among the forces of the 
natural world, so little known and unsuspected until of 
recent years, and just as important and necessary to life 
as the air we breathe and the food we eat, is my theme 
to-day. 

Leaving aside altogether that very fruitful and inter- 
esting branch of the subject that is connected with the 
vital processes of the human mechanism which could not 
be maintained without the aid of this power, I shall 
endeavor to trace the successive discoveries and inven- 
tions in the advancement of civilization and science up 
to the present time. 

Electrical phenomena were first noticed in the article 
amber by the ancients, at least as far back as Thales of 
Miletus, who lived in the seventh and sixth centuries 
before the Christian era. It was then learned that amber, 
on being rubbed, would attract light bodies; but we find 
no mention of the discovery being utilized in any way, if 
we except a few hints in the Old Testament Scriptures 
about some subtle force, known to priests and learned 
men of old, and used in sacrificial ceremonies, which was 
held in fear and reverence by the common people; and 
it further appears that no progress was made — at least 
none was recorded — towards elucidating or classifying 
these phenomena or adding to their numbers, until Dr. 
Gilbert, of Colchester, England, made investigations 
about the year 1600. His experiments were published, 
and this circumstance directed the attention of other 



7^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

philosophers to the subject, which soon became one of 
the most interesting and popular fields of scientific 
research. Dr. Gilbert found that almost anything, if 
properly treated, would show the same desire that amber 
does of drawing things tovv^ards itself. He considered 
the effect as belonging to a special influence, suggested 
the name electricity for that influence, and his suggestion 
has been universally accepted. Glass and sulphur, two 
of the substances shown by Gilbert to possess the electric 
force, proved to be of particular interest; and the only 
electrical apparatus for many years was glass tubes, two 
or three feet long, and large enough around to be easily 
grasped by the hand. Electricity was excited by rub- 
bing the glass tubes with a warm silk handkerchief; but 
this w^as very tiresome, and Otto Guericke, a Dutch 
Burgomaster, made a great improvement by inventing 
his electrical sulphur machine. 

' Nothing more of historic importance occurred until 
1729, when Grey discovered that there are some sub- 
stances that wall conduct electricity and others that will 
not. This one of the fundamental facts of electricity 
was applied to the improvement of the electrical machine 
and it gave the prime conductor. The next important 
discovery was formulated in the expression, "Like elec- 
tricities repel, and unlike ones attract." 

In 1745 it occurred to some Dutch experimenters that 
by taking advantage of Grey's discovery they might pre- 
serve a quantity of electricity for an unlimited time, and 
the result of their experiments was the invention of the 
Leyden jar. 

In 1746 Franklin commenced the study of electricity, 
and his discoveries and experiments brought more to 
light than any one's previous to his. Though several 



ELECTRICITY. 11 

persons had previously remarked the resemblance 
between lightning and electricity, he was the first to iden- 
tify them as one and the same element. Franklin was 
led to the conclusion whicli prompted his discovery by 
reasoning- as follovrs : Lightning travels in a zigzag line 
and so does an electric spark; electricity sets things on 
fire, so does liglitning; animals can be killed by both, 
and both cause blindness; electricity always finds it ovrn 
way along the best conductor or on the substances which 
carry it most easily, so does lightning; pointed bodies 
attract the electric spark, and in the same way lightning 
strikes spires, trees and mountain-tops. He thus came 
to the conclusion that lightning is electricity passing 
from one cloud to another just as an electric spark passes 
from one substance to another. 

In order to verify his conclusions, he n.iade an elec- 
trical apparatus in the form of a kite, as he thought by 
sending it up among" the clouds he might be able to 
bring down some of the electricity of a thunder-storm. 
Accordingly, in the month of June, 1752, in company 
with his son, he raised the kite like any commion kite, 
in a thunder-storm, taking great care to stand within the 
door so that the silk ribbon would not get wet. A cloud 
passed witliout any indication of lightning, and he began 
to despair of success, but he soon saw the filaments of 
the twine standing- out every way, and he found them to 
be attracted on the approach of his fmger. On the appli- 
cation of his knuckles, a spark fi.ew from the suspended 
brass key, and, as it has been said, then came the most 
welcome rap upon the knuckles that any man ever 
received. 

Electricity then became more easily obtainable, and by 
the electric fire all the experiments that had formerly 



7S ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

been performed by excited electrics v/ere successfully 
performed, while Franklin and others began applying 
his ideas and discoveries to useful purposes, Franklin 
in time giving protection to buildings by inventing the 
lightning-rod. 

Next Galvani proved the existence of electricity in 
animals, and the name galvanism Vv-as given it. This 
led the way to Volta's discoveries, who produced elec- 
tricity in such quantities by two metals and acidulated 
water that he could keep up a constant flow of electricity, 
which Vv^ould travel any distance so long as the circuit 
was not broken. This was the first step toward the elec- 
tric telegraph, and scientific men began to think that 
it might be possible to use this current for making sig- 
nals at a distance, but the difhculty always was how to 
perfect signs at the receiving station. 

In the year 1837, the electric telegraph was invenied 
by Prof. r\Iorse, an American, J\Iany persons think that 
the honor of inventing the telegraph is wrongly bestowed 
upon Prof. Morse. It is claimed, however, that previous 
to his achievement, the possibility of electric communi- 
cation had not occupied other minds, but he v/as the first, 
after years of patient study and ingenious experiment, to 
effect a practical application of the great scientific prm^- 
ciple. This was the time when Prof. Llorse was called a 
madman, and the vote in Congress as to whether money 
should be appropriated for the purpose of erecting a 
line was carried by only one vote. The first message 
was sent by I\Iiss Annie Ellsworth, and was, ''What hath 
God wrought?" The lines of telegraphic communication 
v/hich novv", like a web,, traverse the length and breadth 
of the republic, and vvhich, indeed, connect and cover, 
as with a netv/ork, the four continents of the globe, attest 



ELECTRICITY. 79 

the vastness, influences and power of this amazing inven- 
tion. The telegraph is now for other purposes besides 
the sending of messages. By means of it alarm bells and 
time bells are rung, and clock-hands at points remote 
from each other are moved in unison. 

The electric light has aptly been pronounced the 
brightest meteor that has flashed across the horizon of 
promise during the nineteenth century, and has led 
many to believe that gas lighting is drawing to the close 
of its existence, and that night will be turned into day 
by this Vv'onderful agent. By means of this light, facto- 
ries, assembly halls, depots, streets, lighthouses, etc., 
are illuminated. Its adaptation for ships at sea is looked 
upon as likely to mitigate the perils of night and of foggy 
Vvcather. Another unique use for it developed some 
time since, when workmen employed upon some con- 
struction on tlie banks of the Dneiper river, in central 
Russia, employed this light to enable them to prosecute 
their labors at night. The brilliant rays of light attracted 
so many millions of nocturnal moths, beetles and other 
insects that for a time it was necessary to stop work 
and set all hands to destroying the clouds of these insects 
that frec|uently completely obscured the light. This sug- 
gested the idea of employing the electric light to destroy 
nocturnal insects prejudicial to agriculture, and experi- 
ments to that effect are soon to be tried in Russia. Not 
only to insects, but to fish, the light proved fatally attrac- 
tive, and when within the charm field of illumination they 
lay crowded together in masses, seemingly blinded and 
stupefied. Electric light is so nearly light sunlight that 
plants have been raised by its light, yet it is much infe- 
rior to sunlight, because, under its cultivation, the 
flowers have no smell and the fruit is devoid of taste. 



So ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

We come now to the telephone, the patent for this 
wonderful device was taken out at Washington, in 
March, 1876, by Prof. A. G. Bell The oldest telephone 
on record was made a little more than sixty-five years 
ago. The em.ployes of the shoe factory at South Deer- 
field beguiled their leisure hours by kite-flying. One 
day to the tail of the largest kite was attached a kitten 
sewed in a canvas bag with a netting over the mouth of 
the sack to admit air. When the kite was at its greatest 
height, some two hundred feet or more, the mewing of 
the kitten could be distinctly heard by those holdhig the 
string. The hearing of the kitten's mewing was attrib- 
uted to the clearness of the atmosphere, and no tele- 
phonic patent was applied for. 

Following closely in point of time, and, if possible, 
really eclipsing in wonderfulness the invention just 
named, is Edison's phonograph, which was discovered 
purely by accident. It is an apparatus that will faithfully 
record and repeat every syllable uttered with all the 
peculiarities of vocalization and articulation. Kindred, in 
some respects, is the preceding, and also a genuine 
marvel, is the microphone, by use of which a mere touch, 
or a small sound, as the tick of a watch, for instance, 
may be heard at a distance of miles. The telephone 
brings the sound from a distance and the microphone 
magnifies the sound when it is thus brought near. 

The first newspaper ever printed by the power of 
electricity was in Ilion, N. Y., March 14, 1884. The 
credit of designing and carrying out the plan of printing 
the entire edition of the paper by electricity is due to a 
young man engaged in the study of electrics, and who, 
for his own amusement, often harnessed up a streak of 
lightning to find 'what it would do for him. At the con- 



ELECTRICITY. Si 

elusion of the experiment the editor of the paper said 
that he hoped that all the witnesses, including the press- 
man who fed the press, would live to see the day when 
not only all presses and newspapers will be run by elec- 
tricity, but when the festive quill itself can be started 
down the virgin sheet on an editorial chase by the simple 
attachment of the copper (not brass) wire to the care- 
worn editor's coat-tail. 

New York, London, Chicago and all large cities are 
a network of electric railroads, which are proving to be 
a pronounced success. On their streets a frequent sight 
is one of the latest applications of electricity, being its 
use in the automobile, or horseless carriage. This vehicle 
is rapidly becoming a public favorite, and from present 
indications it will be the only kind used for delivery and 
pleasure purposes in the near future. 

Judging the future by the past, even yet we are just 
on the threshold of this great science, and no subject is 
more worthy of study, or opens a more promising field 
for original research. Miracles are no longer miracles, 
but common occurrences, and who shall dare to say any- 
thing is impossible, in view of the facts constantly 
unveiled. In wonder we can only ask, What next 
through the possibilities of this wonderful agent? 



B2 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



SUCCESS IN LIFE. 

Poets may be born, but success is made; therefore, 
let me beg of you, in the outset of your career, to dis- 
miss all ideas of succeeding by luck. 

There is no more common thought among young 
people than that foolish one that by and by, something- 
will turn up, by which they will suddenly achieve fame 
or fortune. Luck is an ignis fatuus. You may follow it 
to ruin, but not to success. The great Napoleon, who 
believed in his destiny, followed it until he saw his 
star go down in blackest night, when the Old Guard 
perished around him, and Waterloo was lost. A pound 
of pluck is worth a ton of luck. 

Young men talk of trusting to the spur of the occa- 
sion. That trust is vain. Occasion cannot make spurs. 
If you expect to wear spurs, you must win them. If you 
wish to use them, you must buckle them to your own 
heels before you go into the fight. Any success you 
may achieve is not w^orth the having unless you fight 
for it. Whatever you win in life, you must conquer by 
your own efforts, and then it is. yours — a part of yourself. 

Again : In order to have any success in life, or any 
worthy success, you must resolve to carry into your 
work a fullness of knowledge — not merely a sufficiency, 
but more than a sufficiency. Be fit for more than the 
thing you are now doing. Let every one know that you 
have a reserve in yourself; that you have more power 
than you are now using. If you are not too large for the 
place you occupy, you are too small for it. How full our 



SUCCESS IN LIFE. 83 

country is of bright examples, not only of those who 
occupy some proud eminence in public life, but in every 
place you may find men going on with steady nerve, 
attracting the attention of their fellow-citizens, and carv- 
ing out for themselves names and fortunes from small 
and humble beginnings and In the face of formidable 
obstacles. 

Let not poverty stand as an obstacle in your way. 
Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can testify; but nine times 
out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young 
man is to be tossed overboard, and compelled to sink or 
swim for himself. In all my acquaintance, I have never 
known one to be drowned who was worth the saving. 
This would not be v.holly true in any country but one 
of political equality like ours. 

The reason is this: In the aristocracies of the Old 
World, wealth and society are built up like the strata 
of rock which compose the crust of the earth. If a boy 
be born in the lowest stratum of life, it is almost impossi- 
ble for liim to rise through this hard crust Into the higher 
ranks; but in this country it is not so. The strata of 
our society resembles rather the ocean, where every 
drop, even the lowest, is free to mingle with all others, 
and m.ay shine at last on the crest of the highest wave. 
This is the glory of our country, and you need not fear 
that there are any obstacles which will prove too great 
for any brave heart. 

In giving you being, God locked up in your nature cer- 
tain forces and capabilities. What will you do with 
them? Look at the mechanism of a clock. Take off the 
pendulum and ratchet, and the wheels go rattling down 
and all its force is expended in a moment; but properly 
balanced and regulated, it will go on, letting out its force 



84 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

tick by tick, measuring hours and days, and doing faith- 
fully the service for which it was designed. I implore 
you to cherish and guard and use well the forces that 
God has given to you. You may let them run down in a 
year, if you will. Take off the strong cord of discipline 
and morality, and you will be an old man before your 
twenties are passed. Preserve these forces. Do not 
turn them out with brandy, or waste them in idleness 
and crime. Do not destroy them. Do not use them 
unworthily. Save and protect them, that they may save 
for you fortune and fame. Honestly resolve to do this, 
and you will be an honor to yourself and to your coun- 
try. 

Jas. A. Garfield. 



GYPSIES. 85 



GYPSIES. 

Have you ever thought Vv^ho the "roving, happy gyp- 
sies" are, or where they come from? I have often won- 
dered who they are, and now that I have made them a 
subject of research, I hope to interest you in them. 

In the early part of the fifteenth century, a Hindu 
gypsy tribe of Aryan race, being overcome by a neigh- 
l^oring tribe, v/as forced out from its provinces en the 
Indus, and soon appeared in Europe. Bohemia was the 
first country in civilized Europe where gypsies made 
llieir appearance, but it is probable that for some time 
before they appeared in Bohemia they lived in the remote 
regions of Slavonia, for we are told that their language 
contains many words of Slavonic origin, and these 
words could not have been adopted in a hasty passage 
through a wild and half-populated country. Bands of 
the early tribes have continued their wanderings until 
gypsies are now found in every country of the vv^orld. 

America has been looked upon by them as a favorable 
country in which to hve for two reasons. One is that 
here they may live free from persecution; the other, that 
they believe that the final coming together of the tribes, 
as a nation, will take place on this continent. 

The name of the people differs with the country in 
w^hich they live; but, with one or two exceptions, not 
materially. In many countries they have been wrongly 
supposed to be Egyptians. In such countries they have 
been called gypsies, the name gypsy being a corrupted 



86 ESSy\YS AND ORATIONS. 

form of Egyptian. Among themselves they never say 
gypsy, but Romany, which means ''The Husband." 

The typical gypsy is finely proportioned, of medium 
height, lithe and sinewy, and, being exposed to all kinds 
of weather, is insensible to cold or wet, and is able to 
bear great fatigue. The hair is black or dark brown; 
the complexion, tawny; the teeth are dazzling from 
whiteness; the full, dark eye is at one time lusterless, 
then changes to an expression of mysterious, childlike 
sorrow, or blazes forth v/ith sudden passion. 

Those who have made a careful study of the life of 
these people say that the character of the gypsy is rather 
hard to analyze, as it is a strange mixture of good and 
evil. The principal faults are a childish vanity, displayed 
in the bright colors and shov/y ornaments of their dress; 
professional cunning, shovvai in their ability to get the 
best of a bargain; and indolence, caused by a lack of 
ambition. Though quick to resent a wrong, they are 
v.'illing to forgive. They are generous to those who 
have been kind to them. Although shrewd and crafty in 
their dealings, when they have once given a promise they 
may be depended upon to keep it. The saying that 
*'blood is thicker than water" is found to be true in the 
case of the gypsy. Whatever faults they may have, it is 
said that one never failed to help another, when he knew 
help was needed. A gypsy in unfortunate circumstances 
always gets help when lie meets another gypsy, even 
though the two are entire strangers. 

Comparatively little is known about their language, for 
they have tried to keep it a secret, and when they find 
that a Romany vv^ord.has become known beyond them- 
selves, they discontinue its use. 

The only literature they possess Is a few rude ballads, 



GYPSIES. 87 

some love songs and some folk-lore. Tlieir ballads and 
songs have little merit of their own. A few of the folk- 
stories have been published, and it is said that their 
counterpart may be found in Grimm's folk-stories. The 
resemblance of gypsy to other stories may be explained 
in three different ways: First, by the common origin 
of the Aryan races; second, by the gypsies having bor- 
rowed from the nations where they wandered; third, 
by the nations having received their stories from 
the gypsies. That the gypsies may have carried stories 
westward is the most probable of these explanations. 

Vv'ith their beginnings of Christianity or Mohamme- 
danism, some tribes having accepted one faith and some 
tribes another, the gypsies mix the relics of an older 
faith — that of nature vvorship, using as gods — fir, birch 
and hawthorn trees. Serpent worship is also prevalent 
among some of the tribes. Many years ago, as a meas- 
ure of self-protection, gypsies professed the religion of 
any country in which they were living, and it is probable 
that the habit became so confirmed that they still con- 
tinue to do so, though they live in a country where such 
profession can do them neither good nor harm. 

They are extremely superstitious, and before attempt- 
ing any enterprise they carefully notice the formation of 
the clouds, the flight of birds and the soughing of the 
winds. We are told that they do not proceed on a jour- 
ney without som.e favorable omen. AVhen a gypsy dies 
his clothes are burned, for it is thought that by wearing 
the clothes of a dead person one would shorten his life. 

Gypsies are the same in all lands. The civilization, 
the science and the rehgion of modern times have done 
almost nothing for them. They seldom engage in any 
pursuit of mechanics or agriculture. The only mechani- 



88 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

cal branch in which they are ever proficient is that of the 
smith — as, blacksmith or silversmith. In Persia they 
have become celebrated as workers in gold and silver. 
The men are widely knov/n as horse traders and the 
women as fortune tellers. The seventh daughter is the 
one v/ho can reveal the future, and in every tribe one of 
the women is recognized as the seventh daughter. 

A young lady of my acquaintance was persuaded by 
one of these seventh daughters to have her fortune told. 
The gypsy woman first asked the young lady to bring 
her a glass half filled with Avater. Into this the gypsy 
put some charms, which she V\^ore in her hair. As there 
was another person in the room, the young lady and 
the gypsy went into an adjoining room, for the gypsy 
said that the presence of a third person would break the 
charm. After telling her fortune she gave a charm to 
the young lady with the instructions that it was not to be 
opened for nine days. Had the young lady been super- 
stitious she would probably have treasured the charm, 
but as it was, the g3'psy was scarcely gone when she 
opened the charm. It consisted of a piece of tea lead 
enclosed in several wrappings of paper. 

In fortune telling the skill depends upon the mood of 
the applicant. If one is prepared to make much of uttle, 
to exaggerate the importance of any slight approach to 
the truth that the gypsy may accidentally make, he may 
be enabled to believe in their claims in the power to 
reveal the future. 

The most interesting and picturesque features of gypsy 
life are the traveling and camping parties. These usually 
consist of a single family, the term family meaning the 
whole blood connection. They travel about from place 
to place as long as the horse and the palmistry trade hold 



GYPSIES. 89 

good. Gypsies, because of a roving disposition, love this 
life in the open air. Many of theni do not care for a 
permanent home. The women seem to be happy living in 
tents, and appear to be free from care. Certainly they 
are exempt from many of the worries of a housekeeper. 
To many people, gypsy cooking seems to have little to 
recommend it. Their food is plain and prepared in a 
simple manner, for they have few conveniences. 

Although obliged to conform to the laws, the gypsies 
have no part in making themi. Since they are unwilling 
to mingle with other people, they are shut out from 
many advantages which the average person enjoys. A 
few of these wanderers, however, are beginning to real- 
ize this fact, for some of the wealthy class are acquiring 
land; houses are gradually taking the place of tents, and 
so the resistless power of civilization will, by and by, blot 
this people as .a people, from the earth. 



90 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



FAIRY TALES, MYTHS AND CHIVALRIC LIT- 
ERATURE FOR CHILDREN. 

The child's first study from hfe is that of the motives 
of people about him and their relation to himself, so the 
reading which appeals to him most strongly is that 
which deals with the relations between people. This 
is, no doubt, the reason why the fairy tale and the myth 
excite his interest, since that class of reading depicts so 
strongly the relations of one living being to another. 

Y'oung children, as we all know, are delighted with 
stories. Good stories are the best medium through 
which to convey ideas, for they have the power to 
impress youthful thought, fancy and feeling. In order 
to be of interest, the story must be simple and child-like, 
but this does not mean childish. Many writers have 
entertained the notion that books for children must be 
vrrittcn down to the level of the infant mind, conse- 
quently their books are trivial and unfit for the child to 
read, since they do not create within him a desire to 
read better books. Many such stories were written dur- 
ing Dr. Johnson's time. He said: "Babies do not want 
to hear about babies; they Hke to be told of giants and 
castles, and of somewhat that can stretch and stimulate 
their little minds." 

The child lives in a world of fancy and endows every- 
thing with life. The little girl attributes the power of 
speech to her doll and carries on a conversation with her, 
deri.ing as much pleasure as if the doll really had the 



FAIRY TALES, MYTHS, ETC Qt 

power of speech. Although many fairy tales may seem 
absurd to grown people, to the child they are real. 
"Myths are not idle tales; they are interpretation and 
explanation of life in that language of the im.agination, 
wliicli is as intelligible to children as to their elders; they 
are rich in those elements of culture, which are the very 
stuff of which the deepest and widest education is made.'* 

The real and the ideal are close together in the child's 
thoughts. He has seen a raft, or perhaps heard the 
story of Crusoe's raft, and he builds one, not the same 
as the one he has seen or heard about, but one his fancy 
has created. We find him constantly using his imagina- 
tion to create something, and the fairy tale helps to 
develop this power, that, too, at a time which decides 
whether he is to become creative or merely imitative. 

The fairy tale directs the child's thought, and suggests 
various lines of study, and is therefore further sugges- 
tive. A child who has heard the story of '7^ck and the 
Bean Stalk" will be interested in learning about the bean 
in its various stages of growth and development. In 
later years he who possesses a vivid imagination will be 
able to enliven many otherwise dull subjects. His 
thoughts will be enriched and intensified by an active, 
well-developed fancy. 

Many fairy tales call out a judgment of approval or 
disapproval, and so teach a moral lesson. It is better 
for a child to see the virtues and faults as brought out in 
a story and applied to the conduct of others. He will 
then learn to express his judgment of what is right and 
wrong, and later this judgment may be brought to bear 
on his own conduct. Suppose you wish to teach a 
child a lesson on truthfulness, but the result obtained 
by doing this would not compare favorably wdth the one 



92 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

obtained by telling him some story that would bring 
out the same lesson. A child will take home the lesson 
wdien he has discovered the beauty of it by seeing it in 
story, but he will probably revolt against it if it is 
preached to him. 

Many of these stories are about heroes who are leaders 
of some enterprise, by which they are anxious to prove 
that they are very brave and courageous. The story of 
the Hfe of Hercules and the many adventures of Ulysses 
contain many valuable lessons. Many of these legends 
teach lessons of virtue and honor. The good and bad are 
sharply separated, and though wrong may, for a time, 
be uppermost, the good, finally conquers. There are 
touching pictures of faithfulness and obedience, while 
the rigor with which falsehood and disobedience are 
punished is important for the life of the child. 

The child admires the chivalric spirit and loves the 
knight for his gentle qualities. Louisa Alcott in her 
"Little Women" says: "Tlie only chivalry worth hav- 
ing is that which is the readiest to pay deference to the 
old, and protect the feeble, regardless of rank, age or 
color." At the time chivalry was flourishing we find the 
people characterized by high moral character, courtesy, 
fair play and gentleness. Children need lessons in pay- 
ing deference to the old and protecting the feeble, and 
nowhere can they better learn them than in reading 
chivalrous literature. In these stories many an oppor- 
tunity is given to express warm sympathy for gentle acts 
of kindness and unselfishness. A child's education 
should include kindly treatment of the old and feeble, and 
sympathy for the helpless. P>om these stories the child 
learns that knighthood could be conferred only on the 
gallant, the modest and the virtiious: he also sees that 



FAIRY TALES, MYTHS, ETC. 93 

good conduct works its reward. From a study of the 
knights' exploits he will learn to admire commendable 
qualities, his ideal will be raised and he will live a better 
life. His young spirit is fed with deeds and images of 
heroes, and the real is set in true relations to the ideal. 

The history and geography of Europe, as well as the 
manners and customs of the people, are presented in 
myths, stories of chivalry and kindred ones in an inter- 
esting way. The child is not conscious that he is study- 
ing the history of these ancient people, but these charm- 
ing myths take a strong hold of his imagination and 
memory and form a valuable basis for further work. 
Some one has said: "The boys whose sole text-books 
were the Tliad' and the 'Odyssey,' and who learned, 
therefore, all their history and science in terms of the 
imagination, became the most original and gifted men 
who have yet appeared in history. 

The one who learns many myths and legends in child- 
hood, when he reads the works of such authors as Long- 
fellow and Tennyson, will derive greater pleasure and a 
deeper meaning than the one without this knowledge 
of these ancient stories. Children should have access 
to the stories of the childhood race, and that which fed 
the race in its childhood ought to feed each child. The 
heroism and the poetry, the splendid figures and the 
changing scenes in mythology impress him deeply. This 
body of ancient myths has been deemed appropriate 
reading for children by literary judges, and many of the 
myths and legends have been put into simple form by 
authors of high repute, such as Hawthorne and Kings- 
ley. 

If the child has access to the best books, and is led to 
their use, he will acquire a taste for good literature, and 



94 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

will need no warning against trivial, unwholesome 
books, for they will be distasteful to him. The best 
books supply food, which develops a strong, clear, orig- 
inal life of the mind and which makes the imagination 
active and creative. 



^ 4 

i 4 



IDEALS AND REALITIES. 95 



IDEALS AND REALITIES. 

The power which real environment exercises over 
men's hves is great. Surprises soften rough places in 
the path they lollovr, keeping them supphed with friends 
in plenty; poverty deprives them of ease, and, exposed 
to a cold, grasping world, they travel life's journey sore- 
footed, blest only vvith such friendship as those who love 
a man for himself can give. 

But as the wind from over the mountains is more 
powerful than the breeze v^diich flutters at midsummer 
noon, so much mightier are the ideals which dwell in the 
hearts of men, in their life's history, than the reality 
existing about them. 

A man may be rich beyond comparison, and yet have 
a life tale wdiich is a companion piece to that of a home- 
less fugilive, because his ideals rise from dark eartli 
vapors, and he knows only their guidance. But if the 
body be verily starved, still the pure soul of a Franz 
Schubert will soar above to its ideal through poverty's 
heavy clouds undaunted. 

Such a life story falls after him wdio lived it, as clear, 
as sweet as falls the first trill of the morning bird from 
its happy throat. 

In the ideals of Dean Swift and John Milton lay the 
keynote of the difference In their lives. 

Ideality is the food of the soul. That soul which has 
no high, invigorating ideal shrinks into littleness, because 
of its unsatisfied hunger. 

Ideals of some nature we each of us hold dear. In 



96 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

childhood they come to us, prompting us to imitate 
our older friends. As the years pass by in swift change- 
abihty new ideals spring up, those most cherished 
forming the character of their possessor; especially is 
this true wlien a person works to attain one ideal alone. 

The direction in which we look, the steady pressing 
on in that one way makes us as we are; the strife for a 
noble end makes a man great, not his final success or 
failure. 

The ideal which some men adore is ''his majesty, 
myself." They are very fond of this personage; that is, 
of the ideal of this personage; very few admire their real 
selves ; indeed, the ideal is so far removed from the real 
self that it is quite doubtful if they ever get the greatest 
glimpse of "his majesty, myself" in reality. 

Sometimes an ideal will long lie dormant in its inner 
chamber of the heart; then suddenly, by some inspira- 
tion, soft-stealing and breathing all around it a summer- 
like exhilaration, all its latent power is wooed to glowing, 
burning life, and under the mighty, silent influence of 
his new awakened ideal Pygmalion creates his peerless 
Galatea, Alexander w^aits ready to conquer worlds. 

The reality is never equal to the ideal; the one is per- 
fect, the other only real, yet men believe that in the 
realization of their hopes there is to be found content- 
ment, yes, perfect happiness. 

And this is w^ell, for were it otherwise that ''endless 
toil and endeavor," which sends with strong, rapid pulse 
throbs the life blood of enterprise and investigation, over 
and through dark waters and fair lands of our loved 
earth mother, would falter feebly or cease entirely. 

So hoping, hoping until hope is belief, men hurrying 
or loitering, march on to the inevitable, the common 



IDEALS AND REALITIES. 97 

heritage where success and failure side by side rest in 
quiet peace. 

Those whom this world calls dreamers are they who, 
satisfied with throwing fancy's lustrous web over every- 
thing, attempt not to make a revelation of their dreanns 
to those around them. They do nothing but dream. 
Many, however, who are merely recognized as toilers, 
dream much. They dream to work. 

They do not dream all day, but in the hushed dark- 
ness they lie with wide-stretched eyes thinking, listen- 
ing, dreaming, listening only to hear: 

"Time fiowlng in the middle of the night 
And all things creeping to the day of doom." 

Such dreamers rise shrouded in morning grayness, 
hand in hand with their mystic ideal, and make her real 
only that others may know her grace. He who realized 
to mankind the beautiful ''EvangeHne" must, in this 
way, have dreamed of her. 

One life, one mortal life, is little, ''only a cup of 
water," and barely that in the infinite ocean of time gone 
by and timxe to come. On this ocean's endless ebb and 
flow v/e float av;ay, and soon no trace of us or of our 
work is found. 

This is the real. Is this the end? Is this the end? We 
cannot have it so; our ideals wall not let us. 

Majestic they rise upw^ard, and, beaming down on our 
restless souls, quiet us with the pure, uplifting truth 
that— 

Who in life's battle firm doth stand 
Shall bear hope's tender blossoms 
'Into the silent land." 



98 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



FOR CHARACTER IS OUR IMMORTALITY. 

Aaiiong the many Influences which surround man, and 
make him what he is, thought takes a foremost part. 
This is the only real thing in hfe. All action is only the 
outward expression of thought, and is determined by the 
nature of the thought, no matter how different the two 
may seem. 

Thought is the parent and mainspring of all action. 
A great man is sent into the world, and by the power 
of his mind and insight into motives, causes and effects, 
results are brought about, which change the destiny of 
nations. The history of the whole world is nothing more 
or less than an account of the achievements of great men 
or the carrying out of their thoughts. 

It is the nature of man in all ages to look up to or 
admire what is better than himself. Out of this rever- 
ence springs v/orship, for what is religion but the v/or- 
ship of an ideal? This same feeling makes us loyal and 
true to those we love and to our country. Out of this 
adm.Iratlon, governments are founded, for v^'e exalt those 
to a higher plane whom we believe to be of worth. The 
nature of this worship of Ideals has a good Influence, for 
we are always ennobled by worshiping that which we 
cannot reach but can strive for. This Is the secret of the 
influence of truly great men. They are a special gift 
sent to man from God, nearer to him in thought; and 
surely, by honoring them and using them as models, 
we come nearer to our one great ideal. They spring 
forth In all ages, noble and heroic, kindling with zeal and 



CHARACTER OUR OIMORTALITY. 99 

enthusiasm those with whom they mingle, or who know 
of their achievements. 

In times of peace the voices of men of strongest char- 
acter are the voice of one crying in the wilderness — they 
sound to all mankind, the bugle call to a search for truth 
for inward progress. Of them Lowell wrote: 

"For humanity sweeps onward, 
Where to-day the martyr stands. 
On to-morrow crouches Judas, 
With the silver in his hand." 

They keep the world aroused, and with their coming 
we, without our will, are brought near to that power of 
perfectness — the Christ. Then should we "welcome each 
rebuff that turns earth's smoothness rough." 

Each sting that bids, nor sit, nor stand, but go, as 
they tend to character-building. 

But what seems much more humanly w^onderful, 
though in reality divinely appointed, such men fre- 
Cjuently appear when everything is in confusion, while 
panic and despair reign, and through their magic power 
come quiet and order. 

"'"He spake and into every heart his words 
Carried new strength and meaning." 

They form the models of our highest ambitions, and 
their infiuence is eternal. The public holds them to be 
the living exam.ples or the emblems of much that is good 
or grand, and it will generally reward our efforts just 
in proportion to the nearness in wdiich wx approach 
them. We may seem to be in the current of public 
opinion, but we are, in truth, influenced by these heroic 
minds. 

LoK. 



100 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Are most men, then, puppets of these strong souls? 
Do they see through anotlier's eyes and think with his 
mind? No; the will is free. We fashion our own char- 
acter, and all experience teaches us that we become 
that which we make ourselves. Every act leaves its 
impress upon character. 

Perhaps many times it may seem as if circumstance 
was the turning point, but character has been developing, 
and was ready to manifest itself at the time of the act. 

Moral, like physical growth, is slow. Although a man 
may become'great to the world in a day, he must form 
his character by years of patient training. George 
Eliot says: 

"Our deed shall travel with us from afar, 
And what we have been makes us what we are." 

Character carries with it an influence that always tells, 
and if it be of any worth it 'will manifest itself in the 
workshop as well as in public. 

Sometimes it is said that this or that person has led 
a blameless Hfe. ^If we take blameless in its ordinary 
meaning, and can only interpret it that such a person has 
never done any Wrong, there is not much credit given to 
the person. But if we .may take the statement in a 
higher sense and have it mean that he has done his duty 
so far as man is concerned to mankind, it is indeed high 
praise. It means that he has so lived and acted in this 
world that though death may have taken his body, his 
influence lives on, and many have been made better by 
his existence. How great, then, is each one's responsi- 
bility. Longfellow says : 



CHARACTER OUR IMMORTALITY. lOI 

"No action, whether foul or fair, 
Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere 
A record written by fingers ghostly, 
As a blessing or a curse, and mostly 
In the greater weakness or greater strength, 
Of the acts which follow it." 

Every person is helping to form destiny, some persons 
by great deeds or acts, some by the pen, which furnish 
the thoughts that forerun the age and anticipate all that 
shall be said; while others are aiding, and just as truly, 
by the little unnoticed acts of every-day life. 

Nothing, not even a word or an example, is ever for- 
gotten or lost, and it may carry with it a train of con- 
sequences the end of which cannot be traced. An idle 
or a bad word will not die, and seems to cling to man 
more tenaciously and longer than a good one, as if it 
were an evil spirit, and dare not leave for fear it might 
lose its victim. Neither does a good deed ever die, and 
each act that is done either increases or diminishes the 
sum of human good in the world. 

George Eliot's greatest aim was to be immortal in the 
beneficial results of her life, and to live on in the higher 
plane of others. 

"That better self shall live till human time 
Shall fold its eyelids and the human sky 
Unread forever." 

"May I reach — 

That purest heaven, and be to other souls, 
That cup of strength in some great agony. -- 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty, 
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused 
And in diffusion ever more intense. 
So shall I join the choir invisible 
Whose music is the badness of the world." 



102 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



KITES WITH TOO LARGE TAILS. 

Starting a kite from the earth and letting it ascend 
in the air, if its tail is properly proportioned to its body, 
it will soar out of sight, but if its tail proves too large 
for its body it will rise only a short distance, then sud- 
denly fall. 

May not the man starting on the business voyage of 
life be compared to the flying of a kite? If the business 
is constructed in conformity with well-established rules, 
principles, "or laws governing business, if the winds are 
favorable it will successfully rise, but if such laws are 
violated or ignored in business, kite-flying failure inevit- 
ably results. 

What is the cause of so many failures in this world 
of opportunity? The answer comes quickly and truth- 
fully; most of the people who fail are attempting to 
fly a kite with too long a tail. 

One of the illy constructed kites of American life is 
the growing inclination of so many young men to get 
their living by their wits, and to leave agricultural, 
micchanical or other manual labor to be monopolized by 
foreigners. 

Our youth are hardly out of their jackets before they 
are lead, sometimes, by a certain class of writers and 
thinkers, and, very often, by doting parents and friends 
to look v;ith scorn upon the place in life to which Provi- 
dence has assigned them. These same people lead the 
youth to start a struggle to become congressmen, for- 
eign ministers, major generals, or to get some other 



KITES WITH TOO LARGE TAILS. 103 

equally absurd station in life when their fitness is taken 
into consideration. Young people are told they may 
do these things as well as not if they only will. 

Urged on by these influential persons, they rush into 
some business they knovr notliing about, thinking that 
to be a lawyer or merchant, whether fitted for that posi- 
tion by Providence or not, is more honorable than being 
a farmer or mechanic. The consequence is that the brain 
work is too much for them and they fail, the kite being 
too small for the tail. They forget that all callings are 
honorable if pursued with an honorable spirit. It is the 
intention carried into the work, and not the work a man 
does, that degrades it. 

In some respects the city is a very attractive place for 
getting rich, yet the apparent opportunities for accumu- 
lating wealth are very deceptive. The sons of many of 
our farmers, blacksmnths and carpenters no sooner 
become their own masters than they throw down the 
scythe, anvil or plane and rush to the city to engage in 
what they think the better work of canning oysters, 
weighing sugar, selling tape or posting bills. 

A youth vdio might become a first-class farmer 
chances to have been born of ambitious parents, vvlio 
tliink it more honorable for their son to handle the 
lancet than the plovr, and so they make him a doctor. 
He is sent to college, pushed through Latin and Greek, 
attends lectures, gets a diploma, and his vacant head 
settles down to kill people scientifically, to pour, as 
A'oltaire said, "drugs of which he knows little into bodies 
of which he knows less." 

A lad designed for a shoemaker is spoiled by being 
trained for the profession of literature, reminding one 
of Lessing's sarcasm. 



I04 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

"Tompkins forgets the last and the awl 
For literary squabbles : 
Styles himself poet ; but his trade 
Remains the same, he cobbles." 

Kites rise against the vrind, not Avith it. No man 
ever worked his way anywhere in a dead cahn. Per- 
severance, patience and willingness to bide one's time 
are necessary to success. Greatness consists, not in 
Vv^aiting with folded hands to claim life's prizes and with- 
out previous effort, but in toiling and struggling with no 
immediate results, yet standing firm. 

Looking around among our acquaintances we shall 
find that nearly all the successful men have stuck to one 
purpose. As an example of the opposite class, a farmer 
comes to the conclusion that dairying is the most profit- 
able branch of agriculture, purchases cows, erects build- 
ings and begins well. But it being a new business he 
does not succeed as he expected. He might in time 
if he would stick to it. The next year he sells his cows 
and buys sheep. The price of wool is low that year, and 
he hears that much money is to be made at raising 
tobacco, and changes accordingly. Thus he goes on 
changing from one business to another, never succeed- 
ing at anything. 

Two lawyers begin to practice at the same time. One 
gives all his energies to his profession, lays in day by day 
a stock of legal learning, constructs his kite and waits 
patiently for years for an opportunity to demonstrate his 
skill in flying it. The other, restless and impatient, 
plunges into politics, gets a large tail for a small kite, 
fails and becomes an insurance agent, or engages in 
speculation. In a few years the latter will be without 
property, and in debt, while the former will have a 



KITES WITH TOO LARGE TAILS. 105 

profitable and growing business. Llis kite will soar on, 
without any apparent effort of his. Hardly anything is 
more fatal to success in business than the impatience 
for immediate results. All those kinds of business which 
pay best in the long run, and which are surest in the 
end, are slowest in the beginning to yield a return. Hold 
fast to your string, would you succeed in flying your 
kite. 

A young man with litttle brains and expensive habits 
soon finds that he is attempting to fly a kite with too 
large a tail, so, too, one-half of our families are engaged 
in desperate struggles to keep up appearances. They 
force themselves into some fashionable position where 
they may go in the society of IMrs. So-and-So, but their 
kites will fall in time. 

When the young merchant gets married he or his 
bride, or both, may not be content with comforts accord- 
ing to their income, but may think they must pay high 
rent, get fashionable furniture, set a luxurious table — 
all in excess of their means. The result is, after strug- 
gling along for a few years, possibly only a few months, 
■with bankruptcy before their faces, the curtain falls and 
the wretched play of keeping up appearances is ended. 

Dr. Johnson says: "Let it be your first care not to 
be in any one's debt; resolve not to be poor; whatever 
your income, spend less." It is difhcult for a man who 
is constantl}^ in debt to be truthful, hence it is said, 
"lying rides on debt's back." A man out of debt, though 
with a flaw in his shoe leather, is still the son of liberty; 
free as the singing lark above him. But the debtor, 
though royally clothed, is a slave to be reclaimed at any 
moment by his owner — the creditor. 

Hardly anything is more fatal to success in business 



io6 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

than the ail-absorbiiig anxiety for wealth, which is so 
characteristic of the times we hve in. Instead of aiming 
to do a snug, easily managed business, which will yield 
a reasonable rev/ard, the great fault of many who start 
in the race for life is that they are not willing to creep 
before they walk, walk before they run, or run before 
they attempt to fly. 

Speculation is another fruitful cause of failure; too 
many know parallel examples of the speculation, which 
is told in the short poem : 

"Monday, I dabbled in stock operations; 
Tuesday, owned millions by all calculations ; 
Wednesday, my Fifth Avenue palace began ; 
Thursday, I drove out a spanking bay span ; 
Friday, I gave a magnificent ball — 
Saturday, smashed with nothing at all." 

"The darkest day," says Horace Greeley, "in any 
man's career is that wherein he fancies there is some 
easier way of earning a dollar than by squarely earn- 
ing it." 

Another cause of business failure is lack of liberality 
in business dealing. There are business men who never 
advertise, saying one will get as much custom by not 
advertising as by doing so. But this is hardly true, as 
the following frequently occurring cases go to show. 
There are two doctors v/ho have just begun their pro- 
fessional career. Dr. Easy puts his card on his door 
and then sits down and waits patiently for patients. If 
someone is unfortunate enough to break a leg or be 
seized with an attack of vertigo at his very door he may 
secure a patient. 

Not so with Dr. Push. He not only puts a stunning 
brass plate on his door, but gets himself puffed in the 



KITES WITH TOO LARGE TAILS. 107 

newspapers, dresses in the height of fashion, talks learn- 
edly of asphyxia, looks wise as an owl, and keeps a 
splendid 2:40 horse before he has a visit to make. He 
hires persons to startle his neighbors at midnight with 
the peal of his bell; is frequently called out of church as 
being instantly w^anted. Instead of sitting down in his 
office he scours the streets and adjoining country with 
his carriage, neglecting no form of advertisement, and 
is probably earning two thousand a year before Dr. 
Easy has heard the rap of his first patient. Now. of the 
two, Dr. Push may be the humbug, but he is certainly 
not the fool. 

Dr. Easy's policy is like that of the farmer who sows 
three pecks of grain where he should have sown five, 
and is recompensed for his leanness of spirit, by reaping 
eight bushels of grain instead of twenty. 

Still another cause of failure in business is the robbery 
of employers by their clerks. Hardly a day goes by 
that we do not hear of some dishonest bank president 
or some thieving agent. Often the merchants themselves 
are to blame for being thus victimized. Merchants half- 
pay a clerk, calculating that if he can keep from 
starving it is sufficient. Then the clerk very wrongly 
accepts the situation, intending to fly just as big a kite 
as his employer, and, to make up the deficiency of wages, 
takes what does not belong to him. 

Let every young man who is shocked by thought of 
failure avoid, as far as possible, flying a kite with too 
large a tail. Let him resolve early to look his affairs 
squarely in the face. Eloquently has Douglas Jerrold 
said: "Be sure of it, he v/ho dines out of debt, though 
his meal be biscuit and onion, dines in a palace/' 



io8 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



SEVEN MODERN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. 

With the few hnplements and tools v/hich the ancients 
possessed, the problem of the erection of the massive 
structure of the pyramids or the gigantic Colossus of 
Rhodes, must have been a diiiicult one for them to solve. 
Even this century, after such great progress has been 
made in science, and when m.an has learned to utilize the 
powers of nature, such a problem — using stones as large 
as the largest in the pyramids — would at least puzzle the 
wits of the greatest' civil engineers. 

It has been said that "tlie wonder of one ccntur}- is 
the commonplace of the next." The Temple of Diana, 
the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum, the Colossus of 
Rhodes, the Great Pyramids, the Pharos of Alexan- 
dria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were, indeed, 
wonders, but are they wonderful when compared v/ilh 
tlie inventions of modern times, wliicli have so greatly 
benefited and enriched the world? I^.Iore than two tliou- 
sand years ago Epicurus declared that, in the arts vvliich 
[promote the comforts of life, no more improvements 
were possible. The philosophers of to-day say that to 
the scientist and to the inventor, nothing is impossible. 

In 1761 a worthy member of the House of Commons 
said: "If a man were to propose to convey us regularly 
to Edinburgli in coaches in seven days and bring us back 
in seven more, should v;e not vote him to Bedlam? 
Or if another were to assert he would sail to the East 
Indies in six months, should we not punish him for 
practicing on our credulity?" One hundred and fifty 



SEVEN AVONDERS OF THE V/ORLD. I09 

}'ears later these things, which had been considered 
altogether impossible, had been most successfully accom- 
plished. 

The invention and the use of tlie steam engine have 
done wonders for the advancement of civilization. It 
has brought into closer intercourse the different classes 
of society by uniting cities, towns and villages, .and' 
extending to people of the countiy equal opportunities 
Avith the people of the large city in both intellectual and 
commercial advantages. By opening men's minds it 
has done away v/ith many prejudices. It has enlarged 
the resources of the country, and it has increased the 
power of man. The light of knov/ledge and the charities 
of cultivated life have been carried to heathen lands, 
and the missionary has been better able to preach the 
gospel to all the world. 

When travel by railway and steamship had come into 
general use, and people were able to travel much faster 
and a great deal more than before, an invention for 
sending messages to distant places with veiy little lapse 
of time, was brought to the notice of the public. In 
ancient times, alarums were spread by means of beacon 
fires, and communications were carried on by means of 
flags. For long distances, messages were sent by mail. 
People are no longer dependent on the miails, and, 
although they may live many miles apart, they may 
communicate vvith each other and transact business 
almost as cpiickly as if they were living in the same 
tov\'n. The telegraph brings London and New York 
prices to the Chicago business man, and he. in turn, is 
able at any moment to advise his salesmen of a iiuctua- 
tion in the market prices. 

When we read in the morning paper of some great 



no ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

event which took place in some distant land only a few 
hours before, do we stop to think tliat tlie telegraph 
which brings the news was unknown seventy-five years 
ago? A century ago the news of some great calamity 
which liad befallen some distant people would have 
reached this continent only after a lapse of days, weeks, 
or months, and friendly help could have been given only 
after a similar lapse of time. Now the intelligence is 
flashed over the wires and reaches places thousands of 
miles away, almost at the moment of tlie occurrence of 
the event. Many people, conscious that it lies in tlieir 
povv'er to help, and recognizing a moral obligation, give 
the needed help, because it can be made immediately 
available, 

Hovv^ many of those v/Iio use the telephone stop to 
consider how wonderful it is tliat tliey are able to talk 
with people many miles av/ay? The business man steps 
to tlie telephone and talks with a fellovv-man a hundred, 
or even a thousand, miles av/ay. In a few minutes they 
transact important business with as much satisfaction as 
if tliey were in tlie same room. Others, too, are greatly 
benefited by this v/onderiul invention. Tlie busy house- 
wife orders her groceries, the doctor is called to the 
house of his patient, the police are informed of a 
burglary, and in countless otlier v/ays the telephone is 
in constant use. 

Many cannot afford the time or the money necessary 
to attend concerts, although they m^ay enjoy music as 
much as rich people, A concert in some large city may 
be recorded by a phonograph, and it can then be repro- 
duced with less expense,, at any time and at any place. 
Thus people of the country and people of the city, the 
poor and the rich, are brought nearer to a plane where 



SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD. HI 

all can enjoy the same things. As an invention, the 
phonograph is the more wonderful than the telephone, 
for it records sounds that may be reproduced at any 
time. 

An earlier invention, and one of the most practical of 
the age, is the sewing machine. By this the toil beneath 
the family roof has been lightened, and the opportunity 
for education has been enlarged. Formerly the mothers 
and daughters spent many valuable hours m.aking by 
hand the garments for all the household. Now^, by steam 
and machinery, a thousand garments may be made in the 
time in winch one garment w^as formerly made. In the 
days before the sewing machine it was not considered 
necessary for a woman to have much of an education, 
but opinions have changed, and, since her labor has 
lightened, she has been able to devote more of her time 
to gaining an education. 

From photography there is received mental, artistic 
and moral culture. It has aided astronomy in gaining 
accurate pictures of the heavens; it has aided physics in 
the investigation of the laws of hght ; it has- aided many 
of the other sciences by giving faithful pictures, which 
can be carefully studied. In this way the boundaries of 
human knowledge have been greatly extended. Artistic 
culture is gained from a study of photographs of tlie 
wonderful things In nature. Some one has said: "A 
photograph may be like a good book, trifling in cost, 
but in value beyond computation." 

In the X-rays, so recently discovered, photography 
revealed new Vv^orlds to conquer. This discovery has 
already proved to be of great value to the surgeon. By 
the shadow picture the path of a bullet may be traced 



1.12 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

without the painful probe; the surgeon, knowing the 
exact location of the bullet, is able to remove it. 

In an age of progress, one invention paves the way 
for another. With the many superb tools now at our 
service we ought to accomplish even greater wonders 
than these. 

"Salute, ye earnest spirits of our time, 
The Young Improvement ripening to her prime, 
Who in the fullness of her genial youth, 
Prepares the way for Freedom and Truth; 
Peace and Improvement round each train shall soar, 
And Knowledge light the Ignorance of yore." 



THE GAMBLER'S WIFE. II3 



THE GAMBLER'S WIFE. 

D.ark is the night, how dark! No light, no fire! 
Cold, on the hearth, the last faint sparks expire! 
Shivering, she watches by the cradle-side 
For him who pledged her love, — last year a bride! 

"Hark! 'tis his footsteps. No! 'tis past, 'tis gone!" 
Tick, tick! — 'TTow wearily the time crawls on: 
Why should he leave me thus? He once was kind; 
And I believed 'twould last! — how mad, how blind! 

"Rest thee, my babe, rest on! — 'Tis hunger's cry: 
Sleep! for there is no food, — the fount is dry! 
Famine and cold their wearying work have done : 
Aly heart must break! And thou!" — the clock strikes 
one. 

"Hush! 'tis the dice-box! Yes, he's there, he's there! 
For this, — for this he leaves me to despair! 
Leaves love, leaves truth, his wife, his child, for what? 
The wanton's smile, — the villain, — and the sot! 

"Yet FU not curse him! No! 'Tis all in vain! 

'Tis long to wait, but sure he'll come again; 

And I could starve and bless him, but for you, 

^ly child! — his child! O fiend!" — the clock strikes two. 

"Hark, how the sign-board creaks! The blast howls by. 
Moan! moan! A dirge swells through the cloudy sky. 
Ha, 'tis his knock J He comes! — he comes once more!" 
'Tis but the lattice flaps :-~thy hope is o'er. 



114 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

''Can he desert us thus? He knows I stay, 
Night after night, in loneHness to pray 
For his return, — and yet he sees no tear. 
No, no! it cannot be: he will be here! 

''Nestle more closely, dear one, to my heart! 
Thou'rt cold! thou'rt freezing! But we will not part. 
Husband! — I die! — Father! — It is not he! 
O God, protect my child!" — the clock strikes three. 

They're gone, they're gone! The glimmering spark hath 

fled: 
The wife and child are number'd with the dead: 
On the cold hearth, outstretch'd in solemn rest, 
The babe lay frozen on its mother's breast. 
The gambler came at last, — but all was o'er; 
Dread silence reigned around— the clock struck four! 

R. Coates. 



INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS. II5 



INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS. 

The progress of learning before the sixteenth century 
was very slow, and not until after that century, was much 
advancement made. True, the past has not been barren; 
its -literature may be said to have been grand. Homer, 
Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton and others are immortal- 
ized for their delineations of the beautiful and sublime. 
A few thinkers are to be found among them. 

In the time of Bacon, thought was just taking root; 
the lavv's of nature and philosophy that were understood 
were few, and it is not strange that during a great 
calam.ity, ignorance and superstition led them to invent 
various and imaginative theories as to the causes of 
natural phenomena, some of which, were very crude. 
Others, who had enough knowledge to dislodge super- 
stitious fears, but with the imaginative minds born of 
several generations of unchecked grovv^th, were led to 
give full play to their fancies in the beautiful poetic 
effusions, which constitute so large a part of the litera- 
ture of the past. This may account for the fact that in 
the present practical .age, v/e have but little that will com- 
pare favora])ly with the fanciful writings of the Eliza- 
bethan era. Probably many years will elapse before it 
will be equaled, and yet, there is reason to believe, that 
such a state of mental development vv'ill be reached that 
the will can receive the thought in any channel without 
the result of seeming artificial. People of the present 
generation have been accustomed to hear from the 
earliest childhood the causes of most phenomena of 



Il6 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

nature, and, instead of their imaginations exercising full 
authority, and leading them into gross errors, they are 
■checked, and reason is made predominant. The feeling 
is thus instilled that first thought may be faUible. More 
care is used, and second thought aids in reaching con- 
clusions. 

This has become an age of reason. "Lunatics, lovers 
and poets" are classed as one. A desire to knovv^ the 
truths of science has becom_e almost universal, but hov^ 
sadly is it found that little is knovvn of man, of his sur- 
roundings, of his past or of his future. It is true the 
progress of the present has been rapid, but has it been 
as rapid as it should be? Considering a moment, it is 
appalling the amount of time that is wasted. Indolent 
persons are always tired, others are mentally defective, 
while others, who constitute the majority of public bene- 
factors, are simply urged on by a desire for private gain. 
These are often held up before the young as models for 
them to copy. Careful, conscientious persons, however, 
do not consider them worthy of the honor. 

Some maintain that an honorable, upright manner of 
living is all that is necessary; but this is contentment, 
arising from inertia. Why not think and act, try to gain 
more knowledge and solve all philosophical problems? 
But why do this? Because it leads to happiness, to 
honor among men, ennobles them, giving them a refined 
pleasure and contentment, which are infinitely better 
than the contentment of inertia. The misery and com- 
plaining of thousands would soon disappear if they 
would only open their eyes to the fact, that it is their 
duty to themselves and to their country, to labor and 
study during the short period of earthly existence. Some, 
will maintain that everything is perfect, while others, 



INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS. Il7 

believe that the glorious zenith period of development 
is yet in the future; that the present age, has but just 
reached the verge of the immense fields containing 
secrets of the sciences which, when divulged, will revo- 
lutionize the world. 

The remark is frequently heard that "the history of the 
past is the history of the future;" that our republic will 
have its point of culmination, from which it will decline, 
as did the PvOman Empire. There can be no foundation 
for this prediction. Our government is built on a dif- 
ferent basis. PvOme attained ascendency by force of 
arms; she fell for want of intellectual and moral training 
among the masses. Provision is being rapidly made in 
tliis country to guard against this danger, and it will not 
only serve for the preservation of the Union, but will 
be the proper means for eradicating the inherent evils 
of state, Vv'hich now agitate the people, and impede their 
progress. 



Ii8 "ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE FUTURE OF THE ARID WEST. 

About forty 3^ears ago, and within the memory of men 
and women not yet old, there was an organized and 
sudden movement of people from the northern and east- 
ern states to the West, with a definite and determined 
purpose to take possession of the land for the establish- 
ment of farms and building of towns. After making 
improvements, these people found that the rainfall was 
insufficient, and could not be depended upon for varied 
agricultural pursuits. In some years the crops were 
abundant, but a year or two of good crops was liable to 
be followed by two or three years of drought, which 
brought more or less complete crop failures. Most of 
the early settlers became discouraged and left this coun- 
try, some going even further West; but a great West is 
surely developing, and these regions will continue to 
grow more and more important, as the great ocean 
steamers keep up their yearly landing of hundreds of 
emigrants on our shore, who are bound for the El 
Dorado of the European peasant — the West. 

The arid and semi-arid regions may be defined as that 
portion of the United States lying west of the lootli 
meridian, except a narrow strip of country west of the 
Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges of California, Oregon 
and Washington. Within these lines are embraced nearly 
one-half of the states of Kansas and Nebraska, both 
Dakotas, the whole of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, 
Wyoming and Utah, nine-tenths of California, one-third 
of Oregon and Washington; also the territories of New 



FUTURE OF THE ARID WEST. 11 g 

I\Icxico, Idaho and Arizona. The region has an area of 
about 1,3000,000 square miles, about one-third that of 
the entire United States, inchiding Alaska. 

Large numbers of those who were forced to abandon 
the plains of central and western Kansas, pushed on into 
the mountains of the West, and many of them into New 
Mexico, where they found an old system of irrigation, 
which had long been practiced by the native people, who 
originally brought the idea from Spain and Mexico. 

Irrigation is a natural and familiar process. The man 
who waters his law^n, and the woman who waters her 
fiower beds are irrigating, though in a rude and humble 
way. The farmer wdio grumbles at the sight of withered 
meadows during a dry summer, may yearn for irrigation 
vvithout realizing it, by wishing to be able to w^ater his 
crops. 

In the region where rainfall is abundant, the farmer 
knows he must reckon upon the uncertainty of nature, 
and he operates a large farm in order to reduce the 
chances of complete failure, but by means of irrigation, 
the crops are sure of a better size and quality, the yield 
from two to four times as much per acre, so much 
smaller farms wall answer. 

No more productive soils are to be found anywhere 
than on these waterless plains, and in the mountain val- 
leys of the arid region. The air is healthful and invig- 
orating, and the region possesses all the requirements 
conducive to comfort and longevity, excepting only 
water enough to make the cultivation of the soil profit- 
able. 

In the spring, the streams are increased by the rain and 
the melting of snow and ice, but the later in the season 
the smaller these streams become. Many of them, dis- 



120 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

appear lower down in their courses. Still they afford 
an ample supply of water, which might be used for irri- 
gating the greater portion of the western lands. 

The earliest method of irrigation is known as flooding, 
and the water is generally applied to shallow basins, 
being allowed to stand until the ground is thoroughly 
soaked. In Colorado, wheat and grass are generally 
irrigated by a system of shallow plow furrows run across 
the fields, the water supplied from streams and arte- 
sian ditches upon the ground, and permitted to spread 
out into a hundred small rills. When water is abun- 
dant, it is carried in open ditches. Under such circum- 
stances it is lavishly used, and it is frequently an injury, 
rather than the benefit to crops which it might be. In 
Southern California, water is taken from mountain tun- 
nels through deep ditches or steel pipes, and applied to 
the soil by means of small furrows run between the 
trees or rows of vegetables. This method has been 
brought to a marvelous degree of perfection. 

The greatest hindrance to irrigation is the idea, that 
it can be accomplished only by the expenditure of a 
large amount of money. When wisely undertaken, irri- 
gation can be secured at comparatively small cost per 
acre. 

Only on the plains and in large valleys, can irrigation 
works on an extensive scale be made applicable or large 
investments of capital profitable. In the mountain dis- 
tricts no general system of irrigation is possible, but 
the methods of storage distribution and application may 
be confined to limited districts, and adapted to the con- 
figuration of the land. 

Every age has its own problems to solve, and the irri- 
gation of the arid West is one the solutioii. of which, the 



FUTURE OF THE ARID WEST. 121 

present generation should attempt. Extension and 
growth in the West are practically at a standstill, and 
without something further being done in this direction 
by our government or governments, settlement has 
reached the limit of production. 

With a large portion of the lands available for settle- 
ment, held by corporations and private syndicates, or 
otherwise for speculative purposes, and our poor flock- 
ing to the cities or laboring on rented farms, the case is 
not unlike the European conditions of landlordism and 
tenantry, and the class now known as the "American 
farmer" will in time become extinct. It is time to call a 
halt, before the available area of the public domain, shall 
be entirely absorbed by speculative capital, and closed 
against the great class of home-seekers, for whom it was 
intended. 

There is no condition so conducive to public order, or 
so calculated to inspire love of country and loyalty to 
law, .as the ownership of a home; and no other American 
environment has been so productive as the farm, of use- 
ful public men, who have left this country. It has been 
well said, ''The security, the permanency, the efificacy of 
popular government, have no more earnest champion 
than the man over whom the flag of his country waves, 
as a symbol and guarantee to him of protection in his 
home." 



122 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS, 



GLADSTONE AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE. 

"The final lesson, the final trial," using Mr. Glad- 
stone's own words, has ended at last, and the world 
is made poorer by the death of the most renowned man 
throughout the British Empire. 

Gladstone began his pubHc career as the rising hope 
of the Tory party, but before his death he stood upon 
mountains of liberty and looked at a country that was 
far off. 

He beheved that Ireland is a land of genius; that 
her people are a proud people; that they do not want 
the privilege of cleaning grates, and emptying coal scut- 
tles, while they cannot carry the key to the front door, 
or draw their own checks. 

At first, Gladstone opposed Home Rule ; he thought it 
was the demand of a faction; but when he saw eighty- 
six Home-Rule Irish members of Parliament returned 
out of one hundred six, he knew it was the demand of 
a nation, and not of a faction. He believed that Parlia- 
ment existed for the country, and not the country for 
Parliament. He would trust Ireland with such a meas- 
ure of Plome Rule, as would not impair the integrity of 
the British Empire. 

A.t one time in the administration of the govern- 
ment, Mr. Gladstone, after having made, without avail, 
every concession to this people, resorted to all the cruel 
agencies of despotic power to coerce them into a pas- 
sive quietude, which would, if possible, have prevented 
thcin from writliing in their agony. From the com- 



GLADSTONE AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE. 123 

pleteness of that failure he learned the great truth, and 
liis was the glory first of his countrymen to learn that, 
under present-day civilization, only Russian methods—- 
the knot, the hangman's cord, and the Siberian mine — • 
can perpetuate a social and pohtical system cruelly 
unjust, and he has been the bulwark of Irishmen against 
new and hideous oppressions, and the champion in the 
world's great forum for justice, to this long-suffering 
people. 

With rude, unpitying strokes, he has hewed down 
abuses and absurdities in a political system, which were 
venerable from prescription. To six millions of his fel- 
low-countrymen, working in fields or delving in mines, 
or, with swarthy bodies and brawny arms, driving the 
implements of industry — the creators of a nation's wealth 
in peace, its defenders in war — he extended the right 
of suffrage and the privilege of self-government. Upon 
the polluted depths of great cities, in which vice and 
crime breed like pestilence in marshes, he let in the 
light of England's first common-school system. Recog- 
nizing that true learning knows not the destruction of 
creed or sect, he threw open the scholarships of 
Oxford and Cambridge Universities to the competition 
of Protestant, Catholic or Jew, and, in fact, whomso- 
ever God had bestowed the patent, and set upon the 
seal of intellectual nobility. 

The beneficent spirit of his legislation stopped not 
here. But into the gloomy recesses of mines, where 
women, bereft of womanly instinct, did the labor of 
beasts of burden; into factories, where tender children 
grew dwarfed and deformed, with labor beyond their 
years; even into dark, opprobrious dens of shame it 
entered to rectify, to ameliorate, and to save. At last, 



124 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

rising to the full height and utmost limit of his states- 
manship, he decided that to maintain an alien and hostile 
faith — though that faith was his own by establishment — 
was an unrighteous policy. His opinion was "that reli- 
gion should be pure and undefiled; that it was sent 
among us to heal, not to irritate; to associate, not to 
seclude ; to collect together like the baptismal dove every 
creed and clime and color in the universe, beneath the 
spotless wing of its protection;" and oppression and 
source of endless dissatisfaction. 

What is the Irish struggle? What was Gladstone 
struggling for? God, in making this green earth of 
ours, placed England at the back door of Ireland, that 
she could not compete with the Irish, v/ere they allowed 
to utilize their God-given resources. There lies not a 
fairer land under the sun than Ireland. Her soil is rich 
and yields abundant harvests to the hands of toil. She 
has vast mineral wealth hidden in her bosom — wealth 
enough to clothe her sons and daughters in purple, such 
-as kings delight to wear. She has broad rivers that run 
clown to the sea, with povv^er enough in their sweep to 
set in motion, every implement devised by men for turn- 
ing the earth's products into farms for use. 

But what is Ireland to-day? Her genial skies look 
down on barren fields that hardly know the touch of 
labor's earnest hand; or they smile in submissive 
anguish, on wood and park and silver lake and towering 
castles built by alien hands, and occupied by strangers 
to the Irish race; great lords, who live in splendid lux- 
ury and keep broad acres from the hands of toil, that 
they may follow the chase, and slay with vv^anton hands 
the game that flies in fear before them. At the same 
time, men native to the soil are kneeling at Uieir gates^ 



GLADSTONE AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE. 125 

praying for just one acre of God's own ground, whereon 
to raise the simple food to meet the wants, and still 
the sobs that burst from starving mothers and famished 
babes. 

The treasures God has planted deep in Irish soil lie 
unused. Her silver streams to the sea scarce turn a 
wheel, set a loom in motion, or send a spindle whirling. 
Her sons are beggars, and her daughters paupers. Erin 
to-day, clad in rags that scarcely cover her nakedness, 
sits sadly by the wayside, and strikes with withered hand 
a harp whose strings are shattered, and its wild, dis- 
cordant notes from pinched and famished lips, sob out 
the sorrows of a broken heart. 

Her days of anguish and nights of bitter pain, her 
nakedness and her poverty, her woeful desolation, her 
utter wreck and ruin, can all be traced to the accursed 
rule and iron hand of England — a rule and hand that 
struck her growing industries down, silenced her looms 
and spindles, robbed her fields of cattle, swane and 
sheep, and covered the land wdth a gloom deeper and 
darker, than the shadov/s cast by the wings of death. 

The Irish question is the cause of nearly five million 
human beings struggling for justice, and the right to 
live by their own labor on their owm soil, against a small 
and privileged class, foreign in their origin, foreign in 
their associations, and upheld in their injustice and in 
their tyranny, by the armed force of a foreign nation. 

No human words can paint the miseries and sufferings 
endured by the Irish peasantry. Millions have been 
driven from their homes in despair. Hundreds of thou- 
sands have perished in a land teeming w^ith food. Half 
of the population exist constantly on the verge of fam- 
ine, while the landlords, many of whom have never seen 



126 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Ireland, live on the confiscated productions of these peo- 
ple's labor, in extravagance, in luxury, and debauchery. 

The inflictions tolerated by the Irish peasantry are 
beyond the limits of human endurance. Let any parent 
make the case his own. When assembled at the domestic 
hearth, Vv^ith his family about him, let him bring home to 
his bosom, the apprehension that for exercising, a privi- 
lege not only recognized by the lav/, but actually 
enjoined by the constitution, it v;ere in the power of 
some brutal tyrant, of whom gold, amassed by specu- 
lation and public plunder, is the sole entitlement to nobil- 
ity, to put out his fire and drive him away from his 
pleasant home, turning him adrift to lead a hopeless, 
scrambling life — disowned, rejected, and maligned. 
Where is the father's heart that could endure it? 

It was against the system that produced these wrongs 
that Gladstone and the Irish party so zealously strug- 
gled. Five millions of the Irish people in Ireland, may 
De deprived of constitutional rights, but twenty milUons 
of the Irish people in the United States, in Australia, and 
in Canada are free. They know that until the people 
of Ireland again own their ov/n land, which was their 
fathers', the march of industry must cease. They know 
that there never can be happiness, prosperity or liberty 
in their mother land until the laws are made by her 
own people. 

Read the history of nations, and you will find that 
Irishmen have risen to the highest positions in foreign 
countries, and have held their ov/n in all the services of 
the Empire. In ability, in eloquence, in debating powers, 
the Irish members are second to none in the House of 
Commons. Ireland has given to England some of her 
greatest military captains, and to that country belong 



GLADSTONE AND THE IRISH STRUGGLE. 127 

some of the most distinguished ofiicers of the present 
day. In her struggles for Hberty, Irish blood has moist- 
ened every battle-field. Irish hearts, Irish arms, directed 
by Irish heads, have, in a large measure, contributed 
to place England in her present proud position. 

For Ireland's liberty, Gladstone labored long and 
earnestly. He was courageous all through his career, 
and never espoused a cause because it was likely to be 
successful, but ahvays from the motive that what he 
took up to battle for v;as a righteous cause; nor did 
he ever hesitate, even with the certainty of losing povv'er 
and prestige, to lead his party into the lobby Vv'here it 
would be outnumbered; and to the very last he faced 
every pain and suffering with a bravery wliich inspired 
all those who nursed him with admiration. 

In one of his speeches, shortly before his death, he 
said: '"AVe are sometimes told that it is a hopeless thing 
to legislate for Ireland. I am not of that opinion. It is 
said we have failed in Ireland. I do not admit of 
failure. I admit success to be incomplete. I am asked 
how it is to be miade complete. I say, by patient perse- 
verance in well-doing, and by steady adherence to the 
work of justice. Then, we shall not depend upon tlie 
result of the moment. The main question will not b^ 
what may be said to-day or to-morrow about results. It 
will be rather what fruits we are to reap in the long 
future of a nation's existence, and with that v/e have a 
reckoning which cannot fail. Justice is to be our guide. 
It has been said that love is stronger than death, and 
so justice is stronger than popular sentiment — than the 
passion of the moment — than even the grudges and 
resentments and sad traditions of the past. AValking in 
the paths of justice, guided by Divine light, we are safe. 



128 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Every step that we make on our road is a step that 
brmgs us nearer to the goal, and every obstacle, even 
as it seems for the moment unsurmountable, can only 
for a little while retard, and never will defeat, the final 
triumph." 

The last visit Mr. Gladstone was destined to pay Lon- 
don was full of interest, despite its brevity and the ill- 
health which prevented his going out of doors while 
there. After an absence of four months, he returned 
to Hawarden, where he soon became seriously ill. When 
told of the probable course of his illness, he was per- 
fectly resigned, and, with blessings and prayers upon 
his lips, the day of his death drew near. 

That Conqueror over the Mightiest came at last, and 
on the afternoon of May 17th, 1898, the news that/'Glad- 
stone was dead" was sent forth from Hawarden. The 
dauntless old warrior has fought his "one fight more — 
the last the best"; the voice of the courageous orator 
has ceased to speak, save in the memories of the past; 
the great religionist has passed beyond the uncertain 
speculations of earth. 

Yet, for many a year William Ewart Gladstone will 
be a name held high in honor by multitudes who knew 
and revered him, and his character, so inspiring, will 
become a national treasure, more and more to be valued 
as time rolls on. 



ROADS. 129 



ROADS. 

The first thought of this word suggests travel, for 
which our roads are made. Next, perhaps, conies the 
thought of the weariness that travel ahvays brings, 
although we may be enjoying ourselves. Then there is 
also much sight-seeing on a journey through the coun- 
try. 

As Vv'e pass along we observe, perhaps, the mountains, 
the clouds, the stars, the rising and setting of the sun, 
are delighted v\^ith the songs of the merry birds, and 
the fragrance of the beautiful fiowers, and are wooed at 
last, it may be, into a forest to sit down under the sliade 
of a tree and rest. 

In all civilized countries, roads are among the first 
objects of necessity. Take a bird's-eye view of any 
coimtry, or village, or city, and Vv^e shall see a perfect 
network of roads conveying to some special points, lead- 
ing somewhere. They are the links golden — truly so — 
that bind city to city, state to state, nation to nation, 
making a way for commerce, for international exchanges 
of civilization, of ideas of life. 

The Indian m.ade his roads coming and going on his 
hunting and warring expeditions, with no thought of 
tlieir permanence, but following these foot or bridle 
paths through the forest, swimming the streams instead 
of building bridges. 

In New York, the citizens, not being able to deter- 
mine upon any plan for building their city, the cows, 
as we learn from Washington Irving, took it under their 



130 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

peculiar charge, and as they went to and from pasture, 
estabhshed paths through the bushes, on each side of 
which the people built their houses. This is one cause of 
the rambling .and picturesque turns and windings, which 
distinguish the streets of New York to this day. 

The word also suggests investigation into the his- 
tory of roads. Compare the roads ot to-day with those 
of the ancients, w'hich were laid out and constructed 
almost exclusively by order of the governments of states, 
and very generally for military purposes. 

The streets of Rome were not paved in the time of 
its kings, but after their expulsion, great attention was 
paid to the maintenance of the public ways in the city, 
and of the military roads, many of which were con- 
structed, with immense labor, through hills and masses 
of rock, through swamps, and across ravines and rivers. 

Though the paved roads of the ancient Romans sur- 
pass all others structures of the kind that have been 
made by civilized nations since their time, there arc 
found in Peru remains of works of a similar kind of 
unknown age, and exceeding them in grandeur and 
extent. 

Though the paved roads of the ancient Romans, sur- 
the grand plateau, and the other along the lowlands on 
the borders of the ocean. The former was the most 
difficult to build on account of the character of the coun- 
try. It v/as constructed over a saw-toothed ridge of 
mountains and craggy rocks buried in the snow. Gal- 
leries were cut for leagues through the living rock; rivers 
were crossed by bridges that hung suspended in the 
air; ravines of great depth were fdled up wdth solid 
masonry, and many other great difficulties that mJght 
appall the most courageous engineer of niodern times. 



ROADS. 131 

but which were then encountered and successfuhy over- 
come. 

The Mexicans had no good system of roads, and trans- 
portation was not only slow, but costly. It was not until 
1794, that they began to pay attention to the improve- 
ment of their roads. 

From a very ancient period the Egyptians have had 
canals for means of transportation. About the begin- 
ning of 1859 Egypt had about five hundred miles of 
railroad completed. 

During tlie middle ages the construction of highways 
v/as well attended to. In Germany, only since the Napo- 
leonic war. Forty years ago the best roads were found 
in Hanover and Thurijigea. The Thuringer Wald, we 
are told, has been transformed into a park by its splen- 
did roads; but some of the districts still suiTer from the 
want of good highvrays. 

France, at an early date vtis well provided with com- 
mune roads, divided into imperial, departmental and 
communal, the cost of each class being defrayed by the 
government. Wide highways, bordered with fine trees, 
comprise the first class. The departmental are very 
good, but the communal are poor and too often out 
of repair, as they are not, like the others, under the 
charge of civil engineers appointed by the govern- 
ment. 

In England, the first ordinary roads deserving the 
name of highways were made in 1660, and canal-building 
began in the middle of the following century. The roads 
and canals aided greatly in raising the commercial and 
industrial activity of the nation; still their aid was very 
slight compared with that of the railways. The latter, 
rather aided, than prevented the extension of the old 



132 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

highways of England — the turnpike roads which are 
now considered among the best of the world. 

The Britons failed to keep up the roads made by the 
Romans, or to construct new ones, and for centuries 
they continued to make use of the foot or bridle paths, 
such as are used only in the most thinly settled portions 
of the United States. But with the sixty years follow- 
ing the period when the manufacturing resources of the 
country, through the development of the steam engine 
and the coal mines of England, were brought into action, 
the progress in the construction of roads was very 
remarkable, and Great Britain became famous for the 
excellence of her highways, and facilities for rapid com- 
munication which they afforded. 

Finally, the thought suggested itself to us that we 
would like to test these roads, and that we may som.e- 
times have the pleasure of seeing bonny England, his- 
toric Germany, beautiful Swissland, and sunny France 
by means of these same thoroughfares. 



"WHAT A WOMAN CAN DO." 133 



"WHAT A WOMAN CAN DO." 

"Labor, wide as the earth, has its summit in Heaven." 
How true and inspiring is this thought of Carlyle! How- 
ever the station in hfe may differ, every one has some- 
thing to do. Very few desire to be dependent, and so 
at some time, the impulse comes to every one, to strike 
ou.t in a path for himself. 

The difficuhies have been greater for women than for 
■men, for not until recently have so many trades and 
professions opened their doors to them. In ancient times, 
woman was regarded as something too sacred to come 
in contact with worldly affairs, and the suggestion that 
she should do something for money, would have been 
counted as ridiculous. This regard may have been 
admirable in the good old days of chivalry, but it will 
not do in practical America. Woman has been made 
a power in the movements of the world, and her influ- 
ence has never before been so potent, or so needed. 

Much has been said of the dangers incurrred by draw- 
ing her at once from the safety and dignity of her own 
fireside, into the great whirl of industrial life. She may 
now go to college with her brother, travel alone, or 
enter any career she likes. The question is no longer 
what has she the ability or right to do, but what is most 
expedient for her. Possibly all these privileges may 
have been carried too far. Everv movement and everv 



134 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

person is inclined to extremes. A vibrating object starts 
out with a large arc, which gradually becomes smaller 
until a point has been reached where it will balance; so 
all reform finally returns to some point which will be 
neither too narrow nor too wide. When the necessity 
for a cliange comes it is at once made, without any com- 
ment. 

Dress reform is indicative of this spirit. When woman 
first imbibed the idea of reform in dress, she shut her- 
self in her room, and there followed a great cutting 
and snipping for a few days, after which she emerged 
in a garment the horror of all who beheld it. When 
bicycling and golf came, and the need of this garment 
was apparent, no comment was made about the com- 
fortable blouse and short skirt. So it is with the reform 
in industrial life of women. Many a young girl finds her- 
self suddenly confronted by a crisis which demands 
prompt and energetic action, and they are the most 
noble who go bravely to work to support those depend- 
ing upon them. 

Such was the fate, twenty years ago, of Elizabeth Bart- 
lett, importer and manufacturer of carriage and sad- 
dlery supplies. She was the only child of an English- 
man who came to America with samples of hardware 
used by saddlers and carriage-makers. He was about 
to send for his wife and little child wdien tidings came 
of the death of the former, tie brought his little girl 
to this country, and never afterward left her, instructing 
her as best he could at the hotels where he spent his 
nights and Sundays. Her education was necessarily 
much restricted, but she was well taught in the necessity 
of thoroughness and integrity in all she did. She learned 
to know all the details of her father's business, as well 



"WHAT A \VO:sIAX CAN DO." 135 

as the faces and names of his acquaintances. When only 
sixteen years of age, she was left fatherless in a far 
Avestern city, with her father's samples, his good name, 
his round of connections and little else. She at once 
took the business, and. soon won the respect of all around 
her. Her business steadily increased until she occupied 
two large buildings, with a factory outside the city, but 
she had little concourse with women around her. She 
once sadly said: *'When it is fashionable, as it w^ill be 
later on, for women to enter business, they will not be 
so lonely and unknown as I am. I would like the com- 
panionship of my sex, but as they refuse to give it to 
me, except by purchase, I must live, and doubtless die 
alone." She did. She also prophesied that twenty years 
later the business Vv^omen would be suitably respected. 
The twenty years have nearly passed, and her prophecy 
bids fair to be fulfilled. 

Another successful business woman is j\Iiss Clara 
Stimson. At her father's death she continued his work, 
became one of the leading lumber merchants of Maine; 
finally lier market included several adjoining states. Her 
busy, contented and prosperous life is an incentive to 
any who wish to engage in active business. 

This strictly mercantile career is not the only one by 
which woman can earn an honest livelihood, but there 
are many others which have for years back been con- 
sidered hers. 

The kindergarten is now opening up a road for 
many eager workers, and although special training 
is required, the work is much less wearing than ordinary 
school routine. 

It has been said that more women become stenog- 
raph'^^rs than anything else, and that there are at least 



13^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

fifty thousand in America alone. The student of ordi- 
nary ability may gain a knowledge of typewriting in six 
months. The only objection to this occupation is, that 
so many are preparing for it that in a few^ years there 
will be more stenographers than positions. 

Nursing has long been regarded as demanding dis- 
tinctively feminine qualities, yet it requires much cour- 
age to face an insane or delirious patient, and a nurse 
without self-control, would be worse than useless. The 
most important qualities for a good nurse are prudence 
and consideration for others, as she will often be placed 
in positions requiring great discretion. This position 
dem.ands thoughtfulness in neither showing undue cheer- 
fulness, nor adopting a manner fitted to depress and 
frighten those around her. She should be ingenious 
at make-shifts and contrivances for the comfort of the 
patient. 

There is one old and honorable profession which is 
exclusively woman's. It is that of housekeeping. i\Ien, 
because they cannot do this, are apt to consider it 
unworthy of their powers. Just as many difficulties pre- 
sent themselves to the woman in the home as to the man 
in business. She has to meet questions of domestic 
economy and the labor question, just as perplexing in 
her kitchen as in his office. The housekeeping problem 
is part of the great labor question which is waiting solu- 
tion. It is older than this generation, older than the 
country, and is, in fact, as old as human nature itself. 

Yet there is no greater accomplishment, nor any from 
which there are more pronounced or happy results, than 
those which one will receive from being in contact with 
a good housekeeper. We may not all have had oppor- 
tunities of becoming thorough housekeepers^ but if we 



"WHAT A WOMAN CAN" DO." 137 

are so unfortunate as to lack thoroughness in this most 
important branch, we certainly should perfect ourselves 
in something else. 

All will agree that women can do some work much 
better than men, and a great deal equally as well; 
so it would seem a little ungracious not to admit that 
some things can be done better by men. In looking 
back over the history of the nations, one finds that all 
agreed that there should be some difference in the work 
for men and women, and if still more is needed we have 
only to descend lower and examine the animal kingdom, 
where every class has made a distinction, even down to 
the sponges, which are almost plant • Hfe, if not 
quite so. 

Tennyson outlined the difference between man and 
woman very clearly: 

"For woman is not undeveloped man, 
But averse could we make her as the man, 
Sweet love were slain, his dearest bond is this 
Not like to like, but like in difference. 
Yet, in the long years, liker they must grow 
The man be more of woman, she of man, 
Till at the last she set herself to man 
Like perfect music into noble words." 

The word help-mate is a corruption of the old Saxon 
form, help-meet, and truly this broadening and enriching 
of woman's life, which have come from higher education 
and closer contact with the world, have made her in most 
cases a help-meet for man. 

This introduction of woman into business life has 
not made her one whit less pure or womanly, or taken 
from her any of those qualities which men demand. 



13'^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Instead, it has placed every line of work on a higher 
plane, and brought about the realization of the true dig- 
nity of labor. 



OUR NATIONAL HOLIDAYS. 139 



OUR NATIONAL HOLIDAYS. 

How pleasant, after the cares and trials of the day, to 
lay aside all work and spend the evening in a cheerful 
and social way. In a like manner, holidays serve as rests 
from the daily work of life. Our Heavenly Father saw 
the necessity of these, when He commanded that the 
seventh day should be one of rest, spent only in giving 
praise and glory to God. The poet declares that — 

''The holiest of all holidays are those 
Kept by ourselves, in silence and apart." 

This undoubtedly is true ; yet with what genuine feel- 
ings of pleasure, happiness and expectation do we look 
forward to and welcome the days: First, that commem- 
orative of our country's independence; second, the day 
consecrated to the soldiers who fought to maintain 
that independence; third, the day set apart annually for 
the returning of thanks to God for the innumerable bless- 
ings bestowed upon us; fourth, the day sacred to the 
niemory of him who was "First in war, first in peace, and 
first in the hearts of his countrymen"; and, finally, any 
of the other holidays in honor of brave men and their 
noble deeds. 

Fourth of July! Three small words; yet what more 
potent ones could there be? What others so capable 
of wakening in the hearts of all true Americans, young 
and old, that lofty patriotism, that unswerving fidelity to 
our flag, which is the corner-stone of the Republic? The 
report of the guns, both great and small, which ushers 
in the dawn of tlie Fourth of July, seems to re-echo the 



140 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

words sent forth to the world, from Independence 
Hall, Philadelphia, over one hundred years ago. The 
juvenile portion of the population, according to the opin- 
ion of one of the small boys, ''just live for the Fourth of 
July." Their patience is tried for months beforehand by 
the visions of fire-crackers, torpedoes, etc., which are dis- 
played in the store vvindows, and bringing up anticipa- 
tion, until finally the long-wishcd-for day has come and 
gone, when possibly one of the boys "vvho just lived 
for the Fourth of July," is left to live on, minus a finger 
or so, with the consoling thought that he has given up 
something for his country. 

The 30th of May, taken for Decoration Day, on which 
the graves of the soldiers are strewn with flowers, and 
seryices held in their memory, is one dear to all. It 
affords us the double pleasure of decorating the graves 
and "keeping green" the memory of, not only those avIio 
were soldiers in the battles for the Union, but also tho^e 
who were soldiers in the battle of life. Oh! what an 
example in magnanimity was manifested by the ladies 
of Mississippi when they decorated alike the graves of 
the Northern and the Southern soldiers! 

"No more shall the war ci'}^ sever 

Or the winding rivers be red; 
They banish our anger forever 

"When they laurel the graves of our dead. 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Love and tears for the Blue, 

Tears and love for the Gray." 

Little did the Pilgrim Fathers, pierced by the bleak 
winds of the Atlantic, as they knelt on the rocky, unin- 
viting shores of New England, giving thanks to God for 



OUR NATIONAL HOLIDAYS. 14! 

their safe arrival, think that their example would be 
handed down to posterity by a day being set apart every 
year for the returning of thanks to God, for the blessings 
He has bestovved upon this republic — "Great, Glorious 
and Free" — and for the manifold blessing and mercies 
showered upon her people. Xot only is it a day of 
thanksgivitig, but also a day of love, happiness and fam- 
ily reunion. It is a day of love, because all, ov;ing to 
the influence of the day, and the memories it awakens, 
have kind feelings and wishes for all. It is a day of 
happiness, because on that day a general feeling seems 
to exist to have all people enjoy them.selves. And since 
"True happiness exists in doing good," it cannot fail to 
be a day of happiness to those who, in the proper spirit, 
endeavor to make it a day of joy to others. 

Best of all, perhaps, it is a day on which family 
reunions very frequently take place; vhen the chil- 
dren who have wandered far away from the old home, it 
may be, are drawn toward it by an invvard voice, wliis- 
pering to them of the joys which avv^ait tliem. Stamped 
on their mind by the hand of im.agination, is a picture of 
gray-haired father and gentle-eyed mother, of sisters 
and bothers, as widely separated from that father and 
mother as they themselves are, once more ensconced- 
within the walls of the old homestead, enjoying the pleas- 
ures of Thanksgiving. Well has the poet expressed this 
sentiment of the day when he says: 

"Come one, come all I come home, come home, 
From desert sands, from ocean foam, 
Beneath the honored home roof-tree, 
Join hands and hearts, and you shall see 
Sweet thoughts, pure love and honest living 
Flow from the keeping of Thanksgiving. 



142 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

'Tis then, the dead become most dear — 
'Tis theji, the living bring most cheer — 
'Tis then, the best within us seems 
Aspiring toward our 5^outhful dreams; 
And life looks really worth the living 
In the old homestead, at Thanksgiving. 

Thanks, grim old Puritans, to you, 
Who 'buildcd better than ye knew.' 
True, ye Vv-ere hard and stern, 'tis said 

Intolerant and bigoted. 
But one sweet gift is of your giving 
Thanks, sad old Pilgrims, for Tlianksgiving." 

Christmas, although not a national holiday, bears such 
a strong resemblance to Thanksgiving Day in the man- 
ner of celebration, tliat v;e may be allowed to speak of it 
here. This day receives the warmest welcome of any 
of the holidays, ovving to its being the celebration of 
Christ's birthday, and I may also mention the expected 
visit from the famed Santa Claus. 

The 22nd of P>bruary, the day coimnemorative of tlie 
birth of George V/ashington, of wliom Thomas Jeffer- 
son says, "He v/as indeed in every sense of the word a 
great and good man," is another day which brings up 
grand historic events, and an example of the greatest 
nobleness of character. AVe all know how deserving: he 
was of this opinion in his position as conmiander-in-chicf 
of the continental army, as President of the United 
States for two consecutive terms, and, lastly, in his 
retirement at Mount Vernon. His birthday deserves to 
be observed as a holiday as long as the United States 
remains as a nation. He has justly been termed the 
chief of his age and his country, which are equally full 
of wonders. 



OUR NATIONAL HOLIDAYS. 143 

I have before me a group of pictures of Washington, 
Grant, Lincoln and Garfield: Washington, the success- 
ful military leader in establishing the nation; Grant, 
the successful military leader in saving the nation from 
a domestic foe, and bringing to a victorious issue the 
Civil War, the greatest the world ever sav.^; Lincoln, the 
martyred President, who presided over the nation in her 
hour of peril, and by a proclamation declared free 
4,000,000 slaves; Garfield, the martyred President and 
statesman, who rendered great service to his country, 
both civil and military. Four great names associated. 
Four great men bound to our hearts by ties of deepest 
gratitude. Four great souls, whose natal days have 
been declared national holidays, by our government. 



144 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



FOOTPRINTS. 



If a person were lost on some desolate and unknown 
sliore, or broad plain, how welcome would be the sight 
of a footprint which might suggest some trail to civiliza- 
tion. 

But if the footprint discovered v/as that of some wild 
beast, or of an Indian's moccasin, he might conclude that 
he w^as in an uncivilized country. Like Robinson Crusoe, 
vrhen he discovered the print of a naked foot upon the 
sand, he would be in constant terror lest he should 
suddenly come upon some savage tribe. The shadow of 
every rock and the rustle of the leaves, would bring to 
his excited mind, the image of some savage. 

So when we are traveling on the broad shore of life, 
discouraged, the sight of some footprint left on the sand 
gives us new courage and hope, and we will endeavor to 
follow more nearly those whose work in life has been a 
good example to us. There are a few footprints, how- 
ever, wdiich alarm us as much as the print of an Indian's 
moccasin — those of people whose lives have been blot- 
ted with some great crime. We instinctively turn in 
another direction and sigh at the thought of following 
them. 

We are constantly advancing from the darkness into 
the light of truth and knowledge. Some one makes a 
new discovery in science or art, which his successors 
eagerly follow up, and when they have no longer any 
tracks to guide them, they cautiously advance a few 
step further. In this manner the path of knowledge 
widens as time advances. 



FOOTPRINTS. 145 

When a person abandons the footprints of others, 
who are accepted as authority, and independently starts 
in a new direction, though he may be eagerly searching 
for truth, he is more likely to receive the ridicule of the 
public than its sympathy. 

For instance, for nearly two thousand years the the- 
orem of Aristotle was accepted and taught. This theo- 
rem declared that 'The velocity of the motion of falling 
bodies is in proportion to their weight." Galileo doubted 
this statement, and found by actual experiments from the 
leaning Tower of Pisa, that a ten-pound ball would fall 
no faster than one weighing five pounds. 

But when he ventured to contradict the theorem of 
Aristotle and give to the people the real facts as shown 
by his own actual experiments, he met with great oppo- 
sition. The so-called scientific men of the age forced 
him to fly from his home and seek protection, for daring 
to disregard their teachings. It is even hinted that he 
was put to the rack until he retracted many of his beliefs. 

Even in this enlightened age there is occasionally a 
person found who has studied long and carefully on par- 
ticular questions, and arrives at conclusions not gener- 
ally accepted by the public, only to be honored by the 
name of crank. It may be that people are not capable of 
appreciating his advanced thought, and the good work 
he is striving to do. Possibly in the next century we 
may see some of the pet ideas of this crank the accepted 
beliefs of the people, and the established laws of the 
nation. 

The delicate impressions of leaves and ferns found in 
the vast coal beds, the petrified shells, tracks of curious 
animals and the scratches of boulders left on the moun- 
tain sides are all footprints which lead the geologist to a 



146 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

correct knowledge of this earth's condition thousands 
and perhaps milUons of years before man existed. By 
means of these and many other facts we are able to open 
the book of nature to pages long since passed, and gaze 
with interest and wonder at the pictures there engraved. 

When in the presence of noted people, or when we 
stand before the life-long mark of some genius, how 
intense is our desire to do something by which we may 
be remembered. If our imaginations are good, we will 
build such castles as are rarely inhabited. All kinds of 
impressive scenes occur, of which w^e are always the cen- 
tral and. admired figure; but with a start we remember 
that life is real. 

But we need not sit and sigh because we are not 
endowed with the genius of a sculptor, for we can effect- 
ually aid in molding the character of those around us. If 
our work is successful, it should give us greater pleas- 
ure than the chiseling of some imposing statue, faultless 
in form and feature. 

Our lives will be just what we ourselves make them, 
and even though we may not become great in the usual 
sense of the word, still, as Longfellow says, "We may all 
make our lives sublime." And perhaps our works and 
deeds may make some one's life better and more cheer- 
ful. 

Such impressions as we may leave behind us, though 
faint, should not be uncertain, but clearly defined for 
the good and true. 



'ALL THE WORLD'S A WHEEL.". 147 



"ALL THE WORLD'S A WHEEL." 

Little did our ancestors think that the wheel, a mere 
fad in their time, was destined to be one of the indis- 
pensable elements of modern times. France, England 
and Scotland each claims the lionor of its invention. 

Cycling proper was first introduced into America in 
the early part of the nineteenth century. But not cycling 
as it is to-day. The first wheel, known as the Draisene, 
consisted of two wheels, which the rider, being seated 
between, with his feet just touching the ground, pro- 
pelled, half running and half w^alking, a progress which 
on the whole averaged about eight miles an hour. This 
contrivance met with little favor, but when the Draisene 
appeared later with improvements, and its name changed 
to velocipede it was received with great enthusiasm. 
The craze became so universal that numerous schools of 
instruction w-ere established, and many people attended 
that they might learn to ride. Becoming proficient in 
this art necessarily meant a considerable expenditure of 
energy, v/hen we take into consideration the propelling 
of a hundred and fifty pounds, instead of about twenty- 
tvvo. This machine answered very wxU until the bicycle, 
more commonly called the sky-scraper, was Introduced 
in 1876. This tmgainly contrivance consisted of a large 
Avheel at the front with a very small wheel at the back. 
It is evident that there was always a certain danger of 
taking headers, which were not particularly desirable, 
considering the distance the rider had to fall. 

Next in order to these came the low wheel. This 



148 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

machine was heavy and awkward-looking, but the dan- 
ger was greatly reduced, and it was appropriately called 
the ''Safety." This was again pushed into the back- 
ground and called the "Ice-Wagon," when the present 
wheel, after many years of improvement, came. They are 
now approaching perfection. 

Although genius has exhausted itself in this line, there 
is still another means of locomotion still more surprising 
in its mechanism, and that is the automobile. This is a 
form of carriage or wagon, whatever its purpose may 
be, run by an electric motor operated by a lever, thus 
saving the rider's energy, and dispensing with the horse 
entirely. It is meeting with universal adoption in all 
the large cities in the United States, and in England, 
France and Germany many of the aristocracy and nobil- 
ity have been most devoted in their allegiance to the 
new vehicle. Even Queen Victoria, Vv^ho is known to 
have been far from partial to innovations of any kind, evi- 
dently realized the dav/n of a new era, for she ordered that 
all her driving horses be trained to become accustomed 
to the sight of the automobile. Physicians in all parts 
of the country are using the automobile in making their 
professional calls, and the new mode of travel has so 
many advantages that it is sure of a very general adop- 
tion. 

It is estimated that the number of bicycles made in 
this country last year was five hundred thousand. This 
year the demand has more than equaled the supply. It 
is impossible to state the number of manufacturers in 
the United States at the present, but a careful account 
gives about five hundred concerns of importance. Mil- 
lions of dollars are invested, and thousands of men are 
employed in the making of the bicycle. Each year it 



"ALL TI-IE WORLD'S A WHEEL." 149 

has been predicted that the price of the wheel would 
greatly decrease, but while it has decreased in price 
to a certain extent, the price of standard wheels remains 
about the same. Most people think that the wheel man- 
ufacturers make a great profit, but they do not take into 
consideration the cost of a plant and large advertising 
bills. When all these things are deducted, the profits 
on a bicycle, are not out of proportion to the outlay nec- 
essary in the making. 

In regard to the value of the Vv'heel, one's health should 
receive the first consideration. Many extravagant things 
have been written about its benefits and its dangers. 
The exercise of wheeling most nearly resembles that of 
mountain climbing, both in the m.uscles used and the 
exhilarating efiect, but our dooryards are not supplied 
with mountains, while roads are Vvithln the reach of every 
one. The use of the wheel strengthens a great many mus- 
cles and proves a benefit to all in many ways, unless the 
indulgence in it is abused, but this may be done in all 
exercises. The greatest danger arises from the strain 
which the exertion brings upon the heart; it doubles the 
normal beat just as it does when a person runs up stairs 
rapidly. Cases are on record of people dropping dead 
while riding the bicycle. But there are also cases of peo- 
ple dropping dead in their carriages or even in the rock- 
ing-chair at home, so it does not necessarily follow from 
this that one should give up the bicycle any more than 
the rocking-chair. It also affords opportunity for an 
abundance of pure country air, which is beneficial to all, 
wdiile in no other way can the scenery be more thor- 
oughly enjoyed; and as it is utterly impossible to worry 
on a wheel, all cares for a time must be laid aside. 

There are still other advantages to be considered — 



ISO KSS/VYS AND ORATIONS. 

for instance the time it saves. One is able to progress 
faster with the wheel than with the horse, which proves 
a great advantage to the physician and other business 
men. Also the expense of keeping a horse and the labor 
necessary for his care is dispensed with when one avails 
himself of a wheel. 

The fact that it may be successfully used in the army, 
first by messengers and couriers, and secondly for mov- 
ing bodies of infantry from place to place, will raise the 
standpoint of the wheel in the estimation of critical 
people. Fancy infantry moving in a manner which 
enables them to dispense with the use of boats, bridges 
and horses. 

One of the most practical outgrow^ths of the wheel has 
been the improvement in the country roads. The horse 
probably knev/ the disadvantage and misery of a muddy 
road as well, but, unfortunately, he lacked the gift of 
speech. The wheelman is patient, persistent and relent- 
less, and success has crowned his efforts. Within tlie 
last three years sixteen states have passed laws for the 
betterment of the public roads, largely through his 
efforts. 

Although, like everything else, cycling has its disad- 
vantages, on the whole it has proved a benefit as well 
as a pleasure to men in g-eneral, and its many practical 
uses prove to us that it is not a fad, but an indispensable 
accessory to both business and pleasure locomotion. 



THE SALVATION ARMY. 151 



THE SALVATION ARMY. 

As Christ began his ministr}' by helping the poor, so 
we find men of to-day following His noble example, 
thinking no man so degraded but that he is worthy of 
being lifted out of his pitiful condition, and placed on 
a higher plane. 

Aroused by the degradation and helpless misery of the 
poor around him, the Rev. William Booth, an evangelist 
working in the East End of London, began, in 1865, to 
hold open-air meetings for these poor people. Having 
severed his connection with the Methodist Church, he, 
unaided, began this w^ork. The first m.eeting held under 
cover was in the Friends' burial ground in Whitechapel. 
His work was called the East London Mission, and soon 
attracted the attention and support of many wealthy 
men. From that time on the m.ovement advanced rap- 
idly, and soon lost its local character, for in 1869, when 
the name was changed to the Christian Mission, 
branches were already established in England, Scotland 
and Wales. In 1878 the movement reached France, 
and its international career had well begun. Since it 
had been found to be an army of salvation, it was decided 
to adopt the name of Salvation Army. A complete mili- 
tary system was adopted and military titles w^ere con- 
ferred on the officers. The organization was first' made 
on Methodist lines, but the leaders soon found that they 
would meet with less opposition from every class of 
people if a military system was adopted. Strict discipline 
has made faithful and obedient soldiers, eager to 



15^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

do the bidding of the one in command. The mainte- 
nance of all this system has, of course, been largely due 
to the faithful carrying out of military government 
and discipline. 

The object of the Salvation Army is to conquer sin 
and reclaim the sinful, not to capture the righteous, and 
this society objects to receiving church members within 
its ranks. Its workers seek after souls abandoned by 
others — those wdiom the churches have not reached. 
The work in hand is to subdue a rebellious world to 
God, and this is accomplished through the instrumental- 
ity of holy men using the means used by the first apos- 
tles. 

The Salvation Army has ever had to make its way 
against great opposition. In each country, it has to 
face universal prejudice, distrust and contempt, and often 
still stronger antipathy. This opposition has generally 
found expression in system.atic, governmental and police 
restriction, followed in many cases by imprisonment. 
Bishops, clergy, pressmen and others have bitterly 
denounced them, and this has naturally been followed 
in many instances by the insults of the people. In xAmer- 
ica, its followers have been subjected to more arrests 
and imprisonments, than in any other country. The 
charge made against them is disorderly conduct on the 
streets. Through all this, in country after country, the 
Army makes its way to a position of universal respect, 
that respect, at any rate, which is shown to those who 
have conquered. 

Their methods are plain, simple and unique, yet they 
believe them to be in accordance v/ith the teachings of 
the Bible. Those in command hesitate at nothing which 
they think a means of attracting the attention of those 



THE SALVATION AR:\IY. 1 53 

for whom they are seeking, so they parade the streets 
with banner and music, and their posters, placards and 
advertisements are different from the usual religious 
announcements, and may offend the cultured, but they 
attract the attention of the fallen and degraded. They 
study the law of adaptation, and by their many devices 
lead the sinful to their meetings. Attracted by the songs, 
many are induced to enter the barracks who seldom, if 
ever, have listened to the word of God. Many, out 
of idle curiosity, attend the meetings, but they soon find 
that the soldiers are in earnest, so that ''many who go tO' 
scoff, remain to pray." The services are informal, and 
they endeavor to make the people at home. 

A large number of those who are now most prominent 
in the ranks of the Army had settled into a profound 
conviction, before they attended its services, that every- 
thing connected with religion was utterly false. Having 
given satisfactory evidence of conversion, and signed the 
articles of war, in which he promises to live for God 
and the army, be obedient to lawful orders and lead a 
pure life, a recruit is expected to become an active 
worker. There are about forty trained homes which 
graduate efficient officers. After spending about six 
months in one of these training homes, a recruit may 
then be sent out to take charge of a company. The 
service is voluntary; no salary is guaranteed and no 
ofificer receives mxore than is required for the supply 
of actual wants. The private income of General Booth, 
who is still at the head of the organization, is derived 
from other sources, and he has never drawn any salary 
from the Army. 

The Salvation xArmy is a powerful missionary agency, 
and has made greater progress than any other religious 



154 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

movement since the Lutheran reformation. Members 
of this organization are now working in thirty-four coun- 
tries. The especial field of their work has been in the 
slums of the large cities. The Salvation Army officer, 
instead of standing upon some dignified pedestal to 
describe the fallen condition of his fellow-men, in the 
hope that, though far from him, they may thus come 
to a better life, goes into the street, and from door to 
door, helping these poor, unfortunate ones. The mem- 
bers of this organization visit the wretched hovels, pre- 
pared to clean the room, clothe and feed the inmates 
and better their environment as much as possible. They 
help those who are out of employment to obtain work 
and become independent, and, after attending to the 
physical wants, they talk about salvation. They show 
that "doing is more than saying," and "example more 
than precept." Instead of propounding religious theo- 
ries or pretending to teach a system of theology, they 
speak much after the manner of the old Prophet or 
Apostle to each individual about his or her sin and duty. 
A few years ago General Booth published a book enti- 
tled "In Darkest England and the Way Out." He tells 
us of some of the misery that exists in East London, 
where tlie people live in the midst of crime and all kinds 
of evil. The condition of the London cab horse is much 
higher than that of those depraved, destitute people. 
When the cab horse, for any reason, falls, he is helped 
up, and while he lives he has food, shelter, work, and 
the protection of the law; but this is not true of many 
tmfortunate people, for when they fall their fellow-men, 
instead of helping them up as they would a cab horse, 
begin to wonder why it was they should have fallen, 
and CO not attempt to help them, Happy, indeed, would 



THE SALVATION ARMY. 155 

many of these destitute and forsaken ones be could tliey 
receive such consideration as that bestowed upon the 
London cab horse. 

Three kinds of colonies have been organized to render 
these people self-helping and self-supporting, each com- 
munity being a kind of co-operative society. These col- 
onies are the City Colony, the Farm Colony, and the 
Over-Sea Colony. 

The establishing of these colonies has been the means 
of bringing many thousands from a life of vice and crime 
to one of honesty and self-support. Men and women 
regain their lost manhood and live happy, useful lives. 
Each one who is taken into one of these colonies must 
w^ork, and thus learn to be self-supporting. 

The Salvation Army has not been a popular organiza- 
tion, but it has done much for the bettering of the 
world. A celebrated leader in the evangelistic world, 
when asked some time ago what he thought of the Sal- 
vation Army, replied: ''I do not like it at all, but I 
believe God Almighty does." Perhaps, as an agency, 
they were not doing just as he would have done; but 
think of the countless human wrecks living in this broad 
land, and of the great work of rescue that the Salvation 
Army has been carrying forward. 



15^ ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE VALUE OF COLLEGE EDUCATION. 

The word commencement, seems at first thought, to 
be a strange one to apply to the closing day of school 
life. Custom sanctions its use for high school and col- 
lege ahke, so its meaning must be applicable to either, 
and as usually accepted the term suggests the begin- 
ning of one's work in the world. 

Then comes the query, Are we prepared for this? 
Knowing what study can and cannot do for a man, it is 
a question whether one may educate himself to a greater 
advantage, or whether a college education is of more 
value to him. A person who works his way up into a 
profession has usually a larger stock of actual informa- 
tion, but it is scattering and often he has spent a good 
deal of time and energy in acquiring knowdedge bearing 
on other lines. Such outside or extra lines of study 
were more useful to a man fifty years ago, than they 
would be to a man of to-day. 

Time has changed conditions, for now a man is 
required to be a specialist. To attain this end, a college 
education is of greater value to him than a self-educa- 
tion, for in a college the theoretical part of the subject 
is taught, and a man is not required to begin on the 
lower round of the ladder and work his way to the top. 
Besides this, more men to-day have the advantage of 
college training, so that in the future the number of 
self-made m.en is likely to grow even smaller, and at 
present one cannot help seeing that their ranks are 
decreasing. 

To realize the value of this preparation, one must 



VALUE OF COLLEGE EDUCATION. 157 

study the aims of a college and the methods used. The 
purpose of the American university is to make thinkers, 
rather than scholars. It is a mother of men, rather than 
a school for scientists. Perhaps all that a man needs for 
a liberal education is to know how to study. In most 
public schools the pupils have not learned this, and 
this is generally the reason why the first year in college 
is so hard. It is probably of as great importance to know 
where to find information, as to possess the knowledge. 
A person cannot be a walking encyclopedia, no matter 
how wise, and as it is impossible for him to be posted 
on all subjects, he should be able to help himself with- 
out loss of time or strength. He should also be able to 
handle this information after he has found it. 

There are many persons who have the power of appli- 
cation necessary for receiving information from books 
and other sources, without the direction and spur given 
by the teachers, and in class work, but in self-education, 
they lack the personal influences which surround school 
life. The students are brought in immediate contact 
with the finest and best-trained minds of the time, and 
with their classmates. It is the testimony of m.ost men 
that personality is of far greater importance than instruc- 
tion, or, as some one has said, "Books can teach, but per- 
sonality only can educate." The ansvver made by repre- 
sentative men and v/omen of to-day to the question, 
What is the best thing the college education did for 
you? were almost unanimous in this idea; college educa- 
tion elevates one's, ideal and broadens his views of life. 
It is here, too, that one learns how to work hard mien- 
tally or physically upon a given task at a given time, 
and this training is valuable. 

Another influence of a college education is that it 



158 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

gives a man the power of acting self-reliantly and of 
contr9l!ing his own desires. In the early school life, chil- 
drea'are given a time for studying each lesson, and in 
the high school, while there are study periods, each stu- 
dent can use them for any subject that he pleases. The 
supervision in college extends only to class work. A 
student must attend recitations and make a fixed stand- 
ard in his work, but aside from this, his time is wholly 
his own. So habits of independent action and self- 
imposed work are developed. Contending with the best 
men, whether in the athletic field or in the class-room, 
gives strength and courage for contests in actual life. 

A fault found with our public-school system is that 
all scholars, whether they are bright or dull, are required 
to receive the sam.e mental training. It may be compared 
to the physical drill in an army, where all must obey 
the same rules and regulations, do the same v/ork, and 
in concert. But this is not wholly a disadvantage, for 
there has never been a time in the history of the world 
when men v/ere more dependent upon each other than 
to-day. To a great extent each individual is only a part 
of the whole great machine, and he must not clog the 
works. 

Yet, with the talk of the aims and influences of school 
work, one must remember that college education, taken 
as a Avhole, is self-education. It is not opportunities 
which make the man, but his use of them. Study can 
make no more of a man than he really is, or is capable 
of becoming; or, as Mr. Watson says, "Fools cannot 
be made wise or a mediocre man brilliant." 

All that education can do is to mature and perfect 
the nature which is already in him. But by saying this 
one should not imply that study is of inferior importance, 
because without it, no end can be attained. 



BY THEIR FRUIT YE SHALL KNOW THEM. 159 



"BY THEIR FRUIT Y^E SHALL KNOW THEM." 

Y'^ou will all remember tliat this proverb was taken 
from an old book — the Bible — and its truth has often 
been proved. i\ll through life we have learned that there 
are poisonous influences all about us, and it is necessary 
that v\'e examine closely not only what w^e eat, but the 
books Vv'e read, and the company we keep, so that the 
fruit by v/hich we are judged may be something m.ore 
than leaves. 

In our lives we are constantly bearing fruit. Perhaps 
we are not avvare of it, but every word and every act is 
a seed which will spring up and bear fruit ; and whether 
it be good or bad depends upon ourselves. 

If at all times we make the m.ost of our opportuni- 
ties, do what we know to be right, and in our relations 
with others always follow the Golden Rule, we w^ill con- 
stantly benefit some one, because every noble act bears 
its legitimate fruit. 

While, on the other hand, if we spend our time in 
idleness, choose our associates from the degraded, it 
will not be long before we will be like them. 

By some careless act, unconscious, perhaps, we may 
mislead one of our fellows, and thus the fruit of our 
lives be shov;n to be worthless, or worse than worthless. 

We cannot always tell the character of ,a tree, or of a 
person, by a fair exterior. We must examine the fruit 
in the one case and the life in the other. 

Personal comeliness and pleasing manners are often 
used as a disguise to cover a vile character. When we 



i6o ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

hear accounts of murder, theft and other kinds of wicked- 
ness that are constantly going on, and are thus led to 
think of the men and women who are becoming moral 
and social outcasts, we are filled with contempt for them, 
yet pity them to think they have so little force of char- 
acter. But they are only bearing the fruit of seed sown 
in early life. 

No doubt some of these had as good opportunities as 
any one could wish for, while others might have been 
moral and good citizens could they have had the early 
training, and culture, and help of the good people around 
them. Their lives are similar to a crab tree that is cov- 
ered with thorns, the branches growing out in all direc- 
tions, the fruit small and gnarly. 

This tree may, by cultivation and care, be made to 
grow into a symmetrical tree that will bear large and 
luscious fruit. But it is not by bad fruit alone that we 
may be known. Good fruit gives equally as true indica- 
tions of v/hat we are, of what we aspire to be, and of 
what we seek to do for the benefit of our fellows and 
those who come after us. 

When we read the works of a noted author, we some- 
times seem transported to another world. We know 
the people he is describing; we walk by his side over 
mountains, through valleys, expose old ruins and castles, 
and visit many places of interest with him. 

This author's life has borne fruit, perhaps centuries 
before we were born, by which our lives are brighter 
and better. It is such fruit as this that has aided us 
so much in revolutionizing the world. 

xAll the great inventions and discoveries are the fruits 
by which we are made acquainted with many who might 
otherwise have remained in obscurity. For instance, 



BY THEIR FRUIT YE SHALL KNOW THE^I. l6l 

take Charles Goodyear, who would not have been 
known to any one outside of his own neighborhood, had 
it not been for a discovery which he made. For nine 
years he struggled in poverty, trying experiments with 
the sap of the India-rubber tree, and giving up every 
pleasure that he might get some substance that would 
neither m.elt in summer nor crack in winter. Ke was 
so poor that when his child died he had not a dollar 
with which to bury it, but carried the coffin to the ceme- 
tery himself, where he laid the little one to rest. At 
last, success crowned his efforts, he gave to the Vv-orkl, 
vulcanized rubber. His valuable discovery, of which the 
whole world is enjoying the benefit, was the fruit of won- 
derful determination and perseverance. 

Some people are too timid to brave the scorn and criti- 
cism of the vvorld, and do what they are capable of doing. 
Many have the ambition, but not the necessary advan- 
tages. We may, if we will, help such to the enjoyment 
of better advantages, and it is a duty we owe to liumian- 
ity to help one another, and while we are helping them 
we wnll receive such strength that when we come to the 
hard places in life, we Vvill be enabled to pass safely 
over. 

We may not succeed in being to the world what Mil- 
ton was, or Newton, or Dickens, but we can cheerfully 
cultivate the talents God has given us, and bear such 
fruit that the world may be better for our having lived 
in it. 



l62 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



EVERYTHING HAS ITS MODEL. 

At first, this may seem too broad a statement, but I 
believe that an examination of certain well-known facts 
will either convince us of its truth, or awaken in our 
minds a desire to know how generally it may be applied. 

The model may be in a real tangible form, or it mav 
be only a mind picture. God, in making this world, 
did not form it wdthout thought, but sav/ with His 
mind's eye the world as it would look when He had 
completed it. So we, in building a house, conceive in 
our minds just what we wish the house to be in all its 
parts, and from this conception we draw our plans from 
which the builder constructs the house. 

When a new machine is invented the inventor's con- 
ception is embodied in a small model, from wdiich its 
merits may be ascertained, and others copied. 

The artist, in painting his beautiful pictures, follows 
the model which his imagination has formed. 

The junks which the Chinese and Japanese use are 
modeled after the Chinese Emperor's shoe. The junks 
used by the Japanese are considerably superior to the 
ones in use in China, but all are clumsy, and though inca- 
pable of much speed, have proved themselves safe and 
serviceable on voyages extending even to America. 

Even in v^riting w^e copy from models to wdilch ail 
people adhere more or less closely, and also in our talk 
and manners we copy, unconsciously often, after some 
other person. 

Prof. Morse wtiS some six thousand vears behind in 



EVERYTHING HAS ITS MODEL. 163 

his invention of the telegraph, as we already had these 
useful instruments in the nerves of our bodies, for the 
nerves telegraph messages to the brain, and then carry 
back the information needed. The same may be said 
of the telephone, which is a faithful copy of the human 
ear. 

When we study the construction of our most impor- 
tant implements, we discover that they are true copies 
of some parts of our bodies and simply a further com- 
pletion of them. In the first stone hammer, man uncon- 
sciously imitated his forearm and closed fist; in the 
shovel and spoon, we see the forearm and hollowed 
hand; in the saw, the reproduction of a row of teeth; 
tongs, representing the closing together of the thumb 
and finger; in the hook, is represented the bent finger; 
■he pencil, is simply the forefinger prolonged. So we see 
in all implements, from the simplest to the most com- 
plex, only an improvement and completion of the human 
organs. 

It has often been noted that a child takes the life of 
some person who is prominent in his life, perhaps, or 
even some person of whom he has read in history, as a 
model after which he is to shape his ow^n career. The 
success of this plan, depends largely upon the nature and 
character of him who tries it. It is often very suc- 
cessful if the will is strong enough to withstand the 
temptations in his path, which would deter him from 
his chosen course. 

Even the birds, in building their nests, copy after the 
nests which their predecessors have built. We all know 
that each species build certain styles of nests, and have 
often wondered how they instinctively construct nests 
which are peculiar to their own species. 



l64 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

We have all noticed the work of ''Jack Frost" upon our 
windows on a cold, frosty morning in winter. Now, 
what does this cold, chilling individual take for his 
models? If we stop to think a moment, I think we 
can recall having traced houses, trees, shrubs, delicate 
leaves and vines, and if one has a very vivid imagination 
he can trace old castles on the banks of picturesque 
streams, or among lofty mountains. 

The development of the child from infancy to mature 
years is marked by the same stages of advancement, 
both physical and mental, that marked the development 
of the race to which it belongs, from its primitive con- 
dition. If we trace man's gradual advancement from 
the savage state, we find that it corresponds to the devel- 
opment of the child, in which, at first, the animal nature 
predominates, but is afterward controlled by the mental 
and moral faculties, as they become more fully developed. 

All nature, all human experience, seems to abound in 
models and their copies. Whatever we do, seems to be 
a conscious or unconscious imitation. 

After what, then, shall we model our character? 
Whether we will it or not, it will be modeled after the 
ideals which we have always before us, after our ambi- 
tion and inspirations, and if our ideal or model is a noble 
one, so will our character be worthy of esteem and admi- 
ration. 



SILENT FORCES. l6; 



SILENT FORCES. 

People are naturally attracted by the most noise and 
finest display. We are thus led to imagine the greatest 
good is accomplished thereby, and to overlook the more 
silent forces which are constantly at work, and which 
are far greater in their results, than the more boisterous 
elements. 

We all know that the seasons are not heralded by 
some great noise which the earth might make in its revo- 
lutions, for they stealthily and quietly approach — spring, 
freighted with its beautiful flowers; summer, laden with 
its golden grain; autumn, with its purple fruitage; and 
winter, with its mantle of snow, wrapping each flower so 
snugly, and causing us again to see the wonderfulness 
of God's goodness. 

As we gaze from some elevated place at the scenery 
about us, or travel from ocean to ocean, we find the 
surface of the earth abounds in irregular elevations and 
depressions. Our principal mountain systems, which 
contain peaks that extend beyond the limit of human 
vision, are formed by a slow and gradual folding of the 
rocks, due to the cooling and shrinking of the earth's 
crust. 

Owing to the different upheavals and depressions, 
various types of life were exterminated and whole king- 
doms of animals were destroyed. All this was accom- 
plished silently by the forces at work within the earth. 

On visiting some cllfif in the early springtime, we find 



i66 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

great changes have taken place ; that masses of rock have 
fallen down and accumulated at its base. These changes 
are due to a seemingly unimportant force — the frost. 
The water, running down the crevices of the rocks, froze 
and expanded, thus loosening and separating large parts 
of them. Most wonderful are the forces of nature, which 
through a succession of ages, due to heat and pressure, 
transform the living plant into coaL 

It is to James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine, 
that we are indebted for this wonderful discovery, which 
during the past century has been the m.otive power of 
the Vvorld. When left to itself, this force frequently 
causes great destruction, as is shown by volcanoes whose 
eruptions often bury whole cities and destroy thousands 
of lives. 

To-d,ay, the force of electricity is rapidly taking the 
place of steam. We not only use it for motive pur- 
poses, but for lighting our cities. Nature has been most 
lavish in the supply of this subtle power, as all bodies 
possess it to some degree. 

The best of all books is the book of nature. He who 
makes this a study, finds it full of variety and instruction. 
After a warm April shower, the mind of the observer 
travels on to the more invisible effects. He knovvs ere 
long, in some quiet dell, the modest violet, nature's 
humblest child, will rear its dainty head to the sunlight. 
One of God's greatest forces was silently at work. 
Besides beautifying our universe with its flowers, it nour- 
ished the embryo in the seed that was to bring forth 
all vegetation, on which the existence of mankind 
depended. The trees, that had remained dark and gray 
through the long, dreary life of winter, clothe themselves 
again with the green in the spring sunshine. The buds 



SILENT FORCES. 167 

that v.-ere trampled down burst forth once more in fresh- 
ness and beauty; the streams break from th.eir icy chains; 
the birds come from their southern homes, and the 
glorious sun himself comes wandering back from his 
far-off journey, giving warmth to the atmosphere, and 
rencAved beauty and grace to everything around. All 
that was dead rekindles into life. How incomprehensi- 
ble were the links in the developing chain of growth, 
yet quietly was the work done, and well. 

Character is to a man what the flywheel is to tlie 
engine. Not only is it of importance to its possessor as 
the means of conferring upon him. true dignity and 
worth, but it exerts an influence upon all that lives within 
its reach, the importance of which can never be overes- 
timated. The faithful discharge of daily duty, the simple 
integrity of purpose and povver of life that all can attain 
with effort, contribute silently, but surely, to the build- 
ing up of a moral character that knows no limit to its 
power, no bound to its heroism. We must bear con- 
stantly in mind that there is one record which we cannot 
interline, ''our lives within, on other hearts." How 
gladly we would review and v/rite a kind word there, a 
generous act here, erase a frovv^n, and put a loving word, 
a bright smile, and a tender expression. But alas! what 
is written is written. "Clotho will not begin anew to 
spin the threads of life," and our actions go forth in 
the world, freighted with their burden of good or evil 
influence. 

The best inheritance a parent can bequeath to a child 
is a virtuous example. It cannot be seen, but speaks 
silently and more eloquently of duty, than the tongues of 
men and angels. So it is throughout the entire land, no 
matter hov/ small or great the sphere in wdiich we act. A 



l68 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

good illustration of this may be found at Hull House, 
Chicago. The leaders are too wise to try to accomplish 
a good end by preaching and scolding, but by the silent, 
lasting impression made by the example of their own 
lives, they hope to exert such an influence over those 
about them, that they will be inspired to advance in the 
highest and best directions of human progress. 

Life is made, not of great sacrifices and duties, but 
of little things in which smiles and kindness and small 
obligations given habitually, are what win and preserve 
the heart and secure comfort. Those little nameless acts 
which manifest themselves by tender and affectionate 
looks and kind -attention, do much to increase the hap- 
piness of life. They drive away sadness and cheer up 
the soul beyond all appreciation. They are centers of 
influence over others which may accomplish much good. 

The path of life leads through a bright and beautiful 
world, where the fragrant flowers of friendship, nour- 
ished by the gentle dews of sympathy, and warm sun- 
shine of affection, bloom in perennial beauty. But 
through this bright world there flows a stream whose 
turbid waters cross and recross the path of every pilgrim. 
It is the stream of human suffering. Real sorrow is not 
clamorous. There are griefs v/hich one would forbear to 
whisper even to a friend, and would conceal from every 
eye. Only in silence and solitude are breathed the 
sighs that come from the heart. At such times words are 
better unspoken. It is the caresses that comfort. Christ 
proved centuries ago that the sympathetic touch was 
healing. 

Conscience, the moral governor of the heart, speaks in 
duty done, and without its regulating and controlling 



SILENT FORCES. 169 

influence, the brightest and greatest intellect may be 
merely as a light that leads astray. 

So, in the silent majesty, are gathered the forces which 
rule the world, until they at length emerge, full formed, 
into the daylight of Life. 



170 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



PASSIONS. 

Man is subject to many passions, both good and evil, 
although in most instances, the good passions far out- 
number the evil ones. The bad passions impel man 
downward, the good tend to ennoble him. 

What makes the great artists? Is it the thought of 
the wealth they can command by the exercise of their 
wonderful gifts? No! It is the love of the beautiful 
which makes the artist wish to picture beautiful scenery 
upon canvas; the passion for sweet and harmonious 
sounds that makes the skilled musician; and the appre- 
ciation of beautiful and ennobling thoughts, beautifully 
expressed, that makes the great orators. 

What is more beautiful than nature arrayed in her 
glorious garments? And is it not one of the noblest pas- 
sions to wish to picture the scenes in nature upon can- 
vas? Though the true artist may have no words in 
which to express his feelings while looking at a beautiful 
scene, he shows his appreciation of it in the harmony, 
beauty and symmetry of the objects that appear in his 
pictures, one seeming to blend with and support another. 
He can change ''the black canvas to a magic mirror, 
making the absent present, and shadows to give light, 
depth, substance, bloom — yea, thought and motion." 

The true orator is no less an artist than he who 
images his feelings upon canvas. In perfect oratory we 
have the same harmony, beauty and symmetry that exist 
in the pictures of Titian or in the architecture of the 
Ionic temples. 



PASSIONS. 171 

Others, have not the power to depict their thoughts 
and feehngs upon canvas, or have no adequate words 
in which to describe their thoughts and feehngs upon 
canvas, but through the medium of a beloved musical 
instrument, they make known their every mood, from 
the light, airy music indicative of happiness, to that of 
love, hate, revenge. 

Without any feeling, what w^ould art be? Says a 
modern writer: 

"Though critics may bow to art, and I am its own true lover, 
It is not art, but heart which wins the wide world over. 
Though perfect the player's touch, little, if any, he sways us. 
Unless we feel his heart throb through the music he plays us. 
It is not the artist's skill, which into our soul comes stealing 
With a joy Avhich is almost pain, but it is the player's feeling, 
And it is not the poet's song, though sweeter than sweet bells 

chiming. 
Which thrills us through and through, but the heart which beats 

under the rhyming." 

The passion of ambition, if not carried to the extent 
of subduing our better impulses to sinister ones, is a 
very worthy one, and is the mainspring of most of the 
world's enterprises. It was ambition which led Franklin 
to devote all his leisure hours to reading, while his com- 
panions were amusing themselves. 

While the passions for certain things should be culti- 
vated, there are others that should be uprooted. i\mong 
the latter are hate, vice, anger, jealousy and revenge. 
T\[an, when under the influence of these passions, is hke 
the ship when dashed upon in fury by the waves. If he 
does not seek the calm, the ship of his anger may be 
dashed to pieces, and reason be lost. Anger m.anifests 
itself in some, as the low mutteri*ng of distant thunder 



172 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

and other indications of an approaching storm. There 
may be grumbhng, and the flush of anger may redden 
the countenance. While the storm of anger is upon us 
it is seeking only to wreak its vengeance. It may soon 
be over, but for a time it holds the better feelings in 
complete subjection to it. Man was given dominion 
over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the flsh 
of the sea, and over everything that creepeth; but if 
he has no power to control himself, he surely cannot be 
expected to rule with justness over the dumb beasts and 
his fellow-men. In closing, let us cite: 

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do," words uttered by the World's Saviour in the hour of 
his agony, as the sublimest instance of calmness and per- 
fect control of the passions in the world's history, and it 
should be an inspiration to all to make the struggle for 
the ascendency of the better nature over the baser pas- 
sions. 



MUNICIPAL REFORM. 173 



MUNICIPAL REFORM. 

Much attention has been given of late to the weak 
point in our poHtical system — the government of cities. 
This is a Hving question, and we are repeatedly asked, 
"Why are American cities so generally misgoverned, 
and what is the remedy?" This question has long been 
discussed, and the discussion has produced many plans 
of reform, some of which have resulted in the establish- 
ment of anything but tem.porary improvement. 

When city government first failed to give satisfaction, 
the earliest and not unnatural appeal was made to the 
states. Most of the states tried to rem.edy the govern- 
ment by creating commissions having direct authority 
from the state to do work vvdiich, under a prosperous 
government, should be performed by city ofiicials. They 
also passed mandatory laws compelling cities to under- 
take public work, whether they wished to or not; and 
they further interfered quite generally in the details of 
city action. Even at the present day, except in a fev/ 
cities, the legislature, under the power to provide their 
charters, can interfere wath their affairs. Sufficient tests 
have been made of this remedy to make it perfectly clear 
that the cities should have the power to organize their 
own system of government, leaving to the state control 
over such matters as concern it alone. 

Certainly, the primary end of every reform system is 
good city government; but there is no prospect of 
obtaining it in the cities, until the "party government" 



174 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

is overthroNvn. If there could be genuine municipal par- 
ties, representing divisions between citizens on questions 
of municipal concern only, one need have no fear ot p:irty 
government in its application to a city. But when paity 
lines are drawn upon questions on which local matters 
have no bearing, the evils of tlie party outweigh what- 
ever advantage the system may have. 

The concern of party managers is for the party. They 
feel no responsibility tovv^ard the city, but great respon- 
sibility tov/ard the party. Few of them, are v/ise enough 
to see that one serves his party best, v/ho serves liis 
city best. The m_ayors, therefore, are made to feel under 
obligations to those wdio elect themi, and it requires 
more courage to resist this obligation than most of them 
have. ^ 

Any change that leads to the separation of city elec- 
tions from those of the state, should be made. Yet it 
is plainly seen that the general public interest cannot 
be maintained for two elections a year. Consequently, 
the lesser, or city elections attract a fewer number of 
citizens to the polls. It is true, however, that the average 
citizen is aflfected financially more by the character of 
the city government, than he is by either the state or 
the national. Nevertheless, many more vote at the 
Presidential election than at any otJier. 

We are inclined to charge all the v;orst evils of our 
misrule to the ignorant and corrupt vote; but the 
trouble is, that men of intelligence and cliaracter, who 
are most needed in public affairs, do not perform the 
part they should. Not only do they decline to take any 
part in the nomination of officers, but they refuse to 
accept nominations. This, need not surprise us, if vv'c 
consider how temporary and uncertain is public lite. It 



MUNICIPAL REFORM. I75 

cannot be expected that young men of talent and charac- 
ter will enter into public service until they are offered 
inducements to do so, which are as attractive as those 
offered by professional and business life. What every 
worthy man seeks is a position v/hich promises to give 
him sure employment, with a promise of wealth, or at 
least a comfortable living. If he could see such a prom- 
ise in the public service, he v/ould enter into it eagerly 
enough. The result is that, as a rule, the capable young 
man shuns public affairs and looks for an occupation in 
another direction. 

The American municipal reformers are not miistaken in 
thinking the Brooklyn plan well suited to the needs of 
our cities at the present time. In this plan the mayor is 
the chief ofiicer. He is elected on a general ticket and 
receives a large salary. The executive power is put 
entirely into his hands, and he is held responsible for the 
whole administration. He appoints the heads of all 
departments, and they are directly responsible to him as 
lie is to the people. Their term expires with his, and 
therefore a change of mayor, places within the reach of 
the voters, a change in the entire character of the govern- 
ment. Under such a system, the people know the rem- 
edy for misrule is within their reach. The officers know 
this also, and must rule justly if they wish to retain 
ofifice. 

By this system, party politics are done away with. 
There being a good compensation offered for public 
service, more intelligent men are attracted to the 
polls, and a greater proportion of good men v>'ill 
accept offices. By this means only, can Vv'e obtain good 
city government. In order to establish such a system 
in our cities, the people must be brought to a thorough 



1/6 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

understanding of it. Once in practice, municipal reform 
will be a thing of the past. The work is a great one, and 
requires intehigence, perseverance and courage; but it 
is one which ought to arouse the spirit of every Ameri- 
can who loves his country and desires to serve it. 



CHARACTER. Ij'7 



CHARACTER MORE VALUABLE THAN REP- 
UTATION. 

As the object reflected is superior to its reflection, so 
is a person's character more valuable than the reflection 
of character, which we call reputation. If, however, the 
reflecting surface be a perfect one, the reflection will not 
be inferior, but be equal to the object reflected. So with 
a person's reputation; if the popular judgment which 
determines reputation were infallible, reputation and 
character would always agree — only the real defects in 
character,! and none of the fancied ones would be 
reflected in the reputation. 

Character is growth nourished by impressions of sur- 
rounding nature made upon the individual, beginning 
from early consciousness, completed only at maturity. 
"Character," says one, **is a completely fashioned will." 
The young child early shows that he has a will of his own, 
and the character of the man will depend upon how that 
wall is directed. Under proper influence, he learns obedi- 
ence to rightful authority, which is so necessary to good 
citizenship. He also learns self-control, the most posi- 
tive evidence of a strong and well-trained wiU. 

Character is made up of small duties faithfully per- 
formed. There are many little acts of kindness which 
teach us more about a man's character than many glow- 
ing eulogies which might be spoken in his praise. 

Over our thoughts we have not complete control ; they 
come unbidden, but our acts are in our power, and they 
are the forces which give the indelible tone to charac- 
ter. 



178 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

The character of a nation depends upon the character 
of a majority of its individual citizens. If they are 
strong-willed, well-bred and kindly disposed, its laws, 
will be just, its people happy, and it will be known as 
an honest and happy nation. 

A man of character^ must be a man of strength and 
courage, for in trying to do that which is right there 
are invariably obstacles in the way which tempt him 
to turn his course in another direction. Take, for exam- 
ple. President Lincoln, who, seeing that the abolition 
of slavery was the thing most needed in our country, 
had the courage to issue his famous proclamation, and 
also put it in execution. A nation may well be proud 
of such a man. 

Phocian, an Athenian general, was also a man of great 
integrity and moral courage, and was nicknamed the 
Good. Alexander the Great, when overturning Greece, 
tried to Vv^in from him his loyalty. He offered him great 
riches and the choice of certain cities in Asia, but 
Phocian's answer was convincing proof of his character: 
'Tf Alexander really esteem me, let him leave me my 
honesty." Brave and upright men do not work for gold 
alone; they work for truth and honor. Many have suf- 
fered death rather than give up their ideas of right. 
These worked for the benefit of all who think, and all 
who suffer. 

In politics, office and money are too much sought. 
Would that office-seekers were more like Michael 
Angelo, who, when commanded by the Pope to super- 
intend the construction of St. Peter's, consented only 
upon the condition that he should receive no salary, but 
should work for the love of God alone. 

An old proverb tells us that "A good name is rather 



CHARACTER. 179 

to be chosen than great riches." By a good name is 
undoubtedly meant a good character, which makes one 
so deserving of a good name, and without which, ,a good 
name cannot last long. 

Character and reputation should go hand in hand. 
If the character of an individual is good, Vv^e generally 
conclude that reputation — reflection of character — must 
be good also. But this does not always follow, for noble 
characters have sometimes been cruelly misrepresented 
and traduced. On the other hand, one's reputation may 
for a time at least, be good, while his character is 
far from it. Take, for instance, a person who, by his 
pleasing manner, wins the esteem of all, while at heart 
he is one of the lowest of characters, and not at all 
deserving of the praise that is bestowed upon him by 
his new acquaintances. After a time, however, and a short 
time it generally is, these people find to their sorrow that 
it is a great mistake to put too much trust in a person 
until they find out a little more of his character. 

Again, a person may have a good character and not 
an equally good reputation. He may have a dififident 
or awkward manner, and may on this account seem cold 
and disagreeable, causing them to think ill of him, while 
really he is deserving of- their fullest respect. Such 
have only to v/ait until their character becomes known, 
and then reputation will take care of itself. 



l8o ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE COMING FARMER. 

In order to predict with any great degree of correct- 
ness what the coming farmer is to be, and what he will 
do, it will be necessary briefly to glance at the past his- 
tory of agriculture. 

Such a history, from the earliest times down to our 
own, is the history of the labors and progress of man 
in one of the most important branches of industry, and 
through its whole course, continually gives us indications 
of the farmer's progress in the arts of civilization. 

We may conceive of a time when men subsisted on 
the spontaneous productions of the earth and the easy 
gains of the chase. These were obtained by little exer- 
tion, and in sufRcient quantities for the support of the 
limited population in the temperate regions of the north- 
ern part of the eastern hemisphere, where the human 
race is supposed to have originated. But the race was 
doomed to toil, and those supplies becoming inadequate 
to meet the wants of the increasing population, necessity 
sharpened the powers of invention. 

We have neither the time nor the inclination, to give 
even a brief summ.ary of man^s progress from these 
primitive times, when the chief tool for v/orking the 
land was a jagged stick, afterward improved by the addi- 
tion of a shell or flat stone, down to times comparatively 
recent. Nor do we need to do so in order to show 
plainly great advancement in agricultural methods. 

What contrast is presented when we compare the 
farmer of the recent past with the farmer of the present! 
Why should there not be equally great improvements 



THE COMIxXTx FARMER. l8l 

for the farmer of the future? Compare the farmer cut- 
ting his grain with a sickle, and doing his plowing Vv'ith 
an old wooden plow that would just scratch the surface, 
with the farmer of to-day with his modern agricultural 
implements. Now he can go into the field in the morn- 
ing with three horses and an improved self-binder, and 
at night he can leave tv^-elve to twenty acres of grain all 
cut and bound, ready to be threshed by a steam thresher. 

The farmicr of the past worked hard for days with his 
old wooden plow, to scratcli over an acre of land. Now, 
v/itli polished boots and standing collar, riding on his 
gang plow, he can easily turn over four or five acres. 
Indeed, plovv'ing is now done by steam. Why not expect 
that the coming farmer will do it by electricity, or by 
some power and in some manner equally wonderful? 

The coming farmer may have to V\'ork just as hard as 
the present farmer, but it will be more with the brain 
and less wdtli the muscles. He ought not to lose as many 
crops from bad v/eather, nor from bad management; 
neither should he sufier as much from heat and cold. 
For the onward march of science should give man con- 
trol of the elements. Until science puts him largely in 
control of the elements and forces of nature, he has 
not secured its reasonable expectations. Surely, man 
can in no just sense be said to have gained ''dominion 
over the earth" v/hile crouching under storms, and hieing 
away in terror before wrathful and uncontrollable ele- 
ments. Must the farmer forever be dependent upon the 
caprices of the Vv'eather for the irrigation of his fields? 
Must he forever watch in impotency the onrushing of 
the tempest? Does not the present achievement in 
science forcibly suggest the negative, as the probably 
correct answer to these interrogatories? 



i82 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Farming is no nobler, higher or more pleasant calling 
than many others. A farmer has many advantages and 
some disadvantages. He has plenty of milk, butter, eggs 
and spring chickens which other people cannot always get 
for either love or money, but to offset this he has to get 
up at five o'clock in the morning and milk cows, take 
care of them, feed pigs and other animals, while the 
fellow in tov/n in snoozing in bed. Nevertheless, of the 
farmer we may, with the poet, say: 

"Cheerful at morn, he wakes from short repose, 
Breathes the keen air, and carols as he goes." 

Sundays the man in town rests, but the farmer, in 
addition to the regular milking and feeding, has to go 
down into the back pasture and salt the sheep or mend 
a hole in the fence, taking due care to keep out of sight 
of the road, so as to be safe from the prying eyes of his 
church-going neighbors, who, possibly salt their sheep 
and mend their fences after church. But how about the 
farmicr in winter? you say. Well, to be sure, he does 
then have some leisure that the m.an in the city does not 
have, but he does not have the city man's free lecture, 
libraries, etc., to occupy that time. 

Some farmers are so worldly that they sell off all the 
good articles of food that they raise because they can 
get what they think is a good price for it, and then 
buy things for their own use, not nearly as wholesome, 
but a little cheaper. This, however, is the exception 
rather than the rule. As a rule, the farmer lives better 
than many classes of people. I hope that the coming 
farmer will not rob his stomach, for the sake of filling his 
purse. 

Farminp- will not make anv man honest. A hod- 



THE C03.IIXG FAR:\IER. 183 

carrier may have just as much honesty as a farmer. So 
let us stop this "croaking" about tlie honest farmer. If 
the coming farmer piles a cord of wood so that you can 
throw a cat through the holes without any friction; if he 
sells a diseased horse for a sound one; if he sells 1,800 
pounds of hay for a ton; if he rides to church Sundays, 
pious and clean, with his family, and skirmishes around 
the rest of the week to see if he can't find some poor 
fellow whom he can cheat out of ten cents, the fact that 
he is a farmer will not save him from the contempt of 
right-thinking people. 

Thomas JefTerson says: ''Let the farmer forevcrmore 
honor his calling, for they who labor in the earth are 
the chosen people of God." When farm.ers manage 
their afiairs so as to develop their highest abihties — 
•when they becomiC studious and progressive — then v/ill 
honor come, and not before. I hope that the coming 
farm.er will fill all these conditions, and then shall he 
command honor. 

As an indication that the coming farmer will be bet- 
ter educated in his business, witness the numerous agri- 
cultural schools that are springing up in this, and other 
countries. Austria has seventy schools of agriculture, 
with twenty-two hundred students, and one hundred 
and seventy evening agricultural schools, v;ith fifty-five 
hundred students. France has forty-three farm schools, 
with forty or fifty scholars at each. Paris has the depart- 
ment schools of agriculture and a national agricultural 
institute. Germany has one hundred and fifty schools 
teaching the different branches of agriculture, and in 
our own country a large number of states have agricul- 
tural schools supported by the government, and numer- 
ous schools supported by other means. 



154 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

The farmer will therefore become more and more 
intelligent and wealthy, and as he advances will not so 
easil}^ be kept in subjection. He will have something to 
say about the prices he gets for what he has to sell, and 
vvliat he will pay for the things he buys. He will have 
those things which make men independent. He is also 
making great advancement politically, as well as in mat- 
ters pertaining directly to intelligence and wealth, and 
Avill yet be one of the controlling forces in our govern- 
ment, and then no longer so subservient to the wiles of 
the speculator in his products. 

Looking at the deplorable condition of affairs in the 
past, the grand improvements the present shows us, 
should lead us to think that we may reasonably expect 
grand and marvelous advances in the future. 

What a rush there has been for the great Western 
agricultural regions during the last few years. Why is 
it? Is it because of the undesirableness of such an occu- 
pation, of the Httle profit it affords, and because of the 
dishonest}^ of the business? Rather is it because of the 
hope of wealth, enjoyment, and independence that these 
multitudes flock thither. 

The signs of the times indicate that this upright, 
healthful and independent occupation, is every day gain- 
ing greater popular recognition, and that the "coming 
farmer" is not to be the "hayseed granger," but the 
popular man. 



A GLIMPSE AT THE COFFEE-HOUSES. 185 



A GLIMPSE AT THE COFFEE-HOUSES. 

That little bundle of humanity, the bab}^ has for a 
beginning a score of possibilities and capacities, with 
perhaps a spark of originality, and we wonder what will 
be the outcome. 

Just watch the child as he imitates his elders, as he 
makes believe, and we see one of the most powerful 
factors of his life. Thus we find that in everybody, 
whether young or old, the beauties of nature, one's sur- 
roundings, heredity, all have part; but the strongest 
influence is that of man over man. 

The basis of society is the craving men have for human 
companionship and sympathy, and to this longing are 
due the orders and societies of ancient and modern times. 
We are apt to think of the club of to-day, with its lux- 
uries and congenial companionship, as belonging wholly 
to this, the twentieth century; but it is really only a 
modification of the cofifee-houses of the time of Elizabeth 
and Queen Ann. Coffee-houses, existing before the 
general introduction of newspapers, became the centers 
of information, and the places where the literary men 
^nd politicians of the age met for discussion. 

They were formed in some of the inns or eating-houses 
of the time, and generally occupied three rooms — a 
library, where the newspapers and a few good books 
were kept; the drawing-room, and the coffee-room. 
Members belonging to the club were chosen by ballot. 
They had the privilege of using the books and of having 
refreshments at any time of th^ day by paying for th^m* 



l86 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

A man might dine here for a couple of shiUings. Almost 
every one you meet in the coffee-house, is a polite 
scholar and a wit. Jokes are echoed from box to box; 
eA^ery branch of nature is critically examined, and the 
merit of every production of the press and of perform- 
ances at the theaters weighed and estimated. 

One of the earliest coffee-houses was the "Mermaid." 
It was a club instituted by Sir Walter Raleigh, and some 
of the leading men of his time were its members ; among 
them_._ Jonson, Shakespeare, Beaumont and Fletcher. 
Here were held many combats of the wits between 
Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, of which the following is 
an instance: 

One afternoon the two great men were at the club, as 
usual, and Jonson, being in a merry mood, began to 
write his epitaph in the following words: 

''Here lies Ben Jonson, 
Who was once one." 

He stopped, and Laughingly handed the paper to 
Shakespeare to finish. After a moment's thought, the 
following words were added: 

"That while he lived was a slow thing, 
And now, being dead, is no thing." 

But these clubs were not intellectual resorts only, 
for the city coffee-houses were the places where a great 
deal of business was carried on. 

Of the coffee-houses of the seventeenth century, the 
one most interesting is the "Wills." Let us take a look 
for ourselves into this famous place, where the wits of 
the time were gathered. Suppose it to be the middle of 
a winter's afternoon: vre find ourselves in the convent 



A GLIMPSE AT THE COFFEE-HOUSES. 1S7 

garden, at the end of Bow street, in front of a square 
white building. It is evident we have reached the place 
we are in search of, for at this moment the well-known 
form of Jonson enters the building by the side door. 

AVe will follow him, unnoticed, up the rickety stairs 
and take a peep at the room he has entered. This is the 
drawing-room. It is a plain, substantial-looking place, 
with quaint, wide windovvs, draped Vv-ith warm, soft hang- 
ings. On one side the window^s open upon a sloping 
roof. The floor is sanded^ and easy chairs are in abun- 
dance, with here and there a small table. Across the 
whole side of one end of the room is an open fireplace, 
and a huge fire is burning brightly. Upon the walls 
are several pen-pictures, and at the end of the room we 
see a large placard with the following words in conspic- 
uous lettering: 

"Enter, sirs, freely, but first, if you please, 
Peruse our civil orders, which are these." 

Then comes a long list of rules, among which are 
mentioned that any man who begins a quarrel shall for- 
feit a twelvepence; that no loud disputes shall be had; 
in conversations, sacred things or affairs of state must 
not be touched upon; and the rules close with the fol- 
lowing verse : 

"Let mirth be innocent, and each man see 
That all his jests, without reflection be, 
To keep the house m.ore quiet, and from blame 
We banish hence, cards, dice and every game; 
Lastly, let each man what he calls for pay, 
And so you're welcome to come every day." 

Underneath the rules is an engraved representation of 
a coffee-house. 



1^8 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

There is no one in the room at present, so we will 
follow Jonson into the so-called library. We find it to 
be much smaller than the dining-room, and it contains 
very little furniture. In the middle of the room, stands 
a three-legged table, and two or three chairs are around 
the table. It is scattered with papers — not such news- 
papers as we are accustomed to see, but smaller sheets 
and rather quaint in style. A few books are piled here 
neatly, and glancing at them we find they are familiar to 
us all, but hardly such as we should find in a men's club 
of to-day. ^'Paradise Lost," Dryden's "Virgil," and 
somiC of Locke's books on philosophy and science are 
among the number. 

We leave Jonson seated at the table and satisfy our 
curiosity still further by passing into the room beyond, 
v/hence comes a smell of tobacco and hot coffee, together 
making an odor not altogether pleasant. 

Here we find a few people seated about a table, upon 
which are tobacco pipes, and several small basins with- 
out saucers, while a v/aiter is engaged in serving coffee. 
From then- dress, the men seem to be of different ranks, 
but as we see no one here whom vv^e recognize, let us go 
back to the drawing-room. It is no longer empty, and 
we hear voices before Vv^e reach it. A glance into the 
room shows us a spectacle we shah not soon forget. 

In a chair drawn close to the fire sits a v/hite-haired 
man, with a plain, grave face and an unusually quiet 
manner. He seems to be the center of attraction for a 
group of men, both young and old, who are gathered 
c:bout him. Of course, we know at once that the gentle- 
m.an Vv'hose opinions seem of so much importance is 
the aged poet, Dryden. Seated about him are the well- 
known figures of Gay, Swift, Addison and Pope. We 



A GLIMPSE AT THE COFFEE-HOUSES. 189 

recognize Gay by his kind, jovial face. He sits next to 
Dryden, and seems perfectly happy to be only a listener. 
Now and then he bows his head in assent to some 
remark, but never says much. Opposite him sits a young 
man whose eyes are fixed upon the face of Dryden with 
eager wistfulness, as if he fairly worshiped him. By his 
sadly misshapen back and sweet voice we know he is 
Alexander Pope. Addison and Steele are seated 
together, as usual. 

Just at this moment Jonson enters the room from 
the library. His face is disfigured with marks of scrofula, 
and has an overbearing and intolerant expression over- 
shadowing it. His heads rolls from side to side, while 
he walks with an awkward, stooping gait. He approaches 
the group with a paper in his hand, and they at once 
make room for him in the circle round the fire. After 
he is seated, he unfolds the paper, which proves to be a 
manuscript, and from it he reads a short account of the 
outbreak of the Revolution. After he has finished, he 
bursts out with, ''I think the xAmericans a party of con- 
victs, wdio ought to be hanged." With the uttering of 
this emphatic announcement, he rises and paces the 
floor, only returning now and then, to give his opinion 
upon some subject of which the others are talking. Only 
to-day, he sent the last sheet of his English Dictionary 
to the publisher, and he expects the messenger's return. 
Presently the boy enters, and Jonson eagerly inquires: 
''What did the publisher say?" "Sir," comes the bashful 
answer, ''he said, Thank God, I have done with him.' " 
Jonson looks rather displeased for a moment, then 
replies: ''I am glad he thanks God for something." 

The group round the fire are in a merry mood, and 
topics of all sorts are handled. The final d^gision m 



IQO ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

every dispute rests with Dryden, and his opinion is 
given in a slow, quiet manner. Jokes seem to be the 
order of the day, and once, in discussing the fame of a 
new writer, Swift remarks: "I'd rather have a nutmeg 
than fame." "Why?" is asked, in astonishment; and 
Svv^iit repHes, v;ith invincible gravity: "Because fame is 
for tlie great, but nutmeg is for the grater." 

Thus, the long afternoon is spent in talking of books 
and their authors, in reading, and in general good cheer. 
The whole place is delightful, for a spirit of refinement, 
of social companionship and sympathy, seems to pervade 
tlie very air. 

But the room is growing dark, and the members of 
tlie club will soon be leaving. We, too, must be going; 
yet, before starting, let us unite in a toast to these 
brothers at heart in a pledge to good-fellowship. To 

"The Prince of good fellows, 
The v.'Orlcl holds him dear. 
Love bless him, joy crown him, 
God speed his career." 



THE LADDER BY WHICH WE RISE. IQI 



WE BUILD THE LADDER BY WHICH WE RISE. 

As we look over the history of mankind from the ear- 
liest period of civinzation to the present, we find charac- 
ters that have risen from positions of obscurity, to others 
in which they have exerted a marked influence upon their 
associates, and upon the age in which they lived. There 
were no carefully constructed steps to assist them in 
climbing to these positions, but upon some sure founda- 
tion they began the construction of a ladder, adding to it 
round after round by patient toil, and rising step by 
step, till tliey reached a place v;here no others were able 
to stand. 

There are fev/ people in the world v\'ho have not 
engaged in the branch of architecture called, castle-build- 
ing. These airy palaces contain the most pleasant abodes 
for the builder. We may have planned cur way througii 
life, but as time passes, v^ith its inevitable ups and dov/ns, 
what a diiicrent picture is presented to our view! We. 
learn that we m.ust build upon a surer foundation, for 
life, with its duties and difiiculties, is a reality. 

We are sometimes inclined to think, that the little inci- 
dents of common every-day life are of little consequence, 
and if we could only do something of some importance 
v;e would be happy. Great things are not done in a day. 
Twenty-four hours are far too short to do anything that 
w^ill make one famous, but it is not too short to do 
something, and the many little things added together 
make the great one. The earth is composed of atoms, 
the century of moments, and our lives of little acts. 
If Vv'e expect to reach a higher position, such common 



192 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

tasks must be performed, and perhaps after these we will 
find our greater life-work. Life would hardly be worth 
living if our thoughts were for ourselves. All the beauty 
in nature was made for our enjoym.ent, so our actions 
should be for the good of those around us. The present 
alone is ours, and vv^asted opportunities are never pre- 
sented to us again. 

Though the remembrance of the past may mar our 
reputation, we may build the future over its ruins. 

Every one should have some work to do, and after 
selecting some object worthy of attainment, work for 
that alone. We may start at the lowest step, but if our 
chosen occupation will bring us at last to a higher one, 
we need not be discouraged. Many of those who have 
gained the object of their labors worked years for it, 
as many years may have been spent by another of equal 
ability, who sought a number of prizes and gained none. 

A good education is almost indispensable, as an aid to 
one who is struggling to gain a place in the front rank 
of the world's workers. I used to think that when the 
,a, b, c's were learned, the most difficult step toward all 
education was taken, but these are only the implements 
with which we vs^ork to acquire facts and learn truth. 
Those who have reached the higher round are never 
satisfied with what they have done, and willing to lay 
aside their work, but still push on, hoping to attain 
higher eminence. 

Only to careful study, can we ascribe the progress 
m.ade in the different branches of science and art in the 
past. The earth has been called the geologist's "puzzle- 
box," and in the starry heavens above us, the astronomer 
has found problems too complicated to be solved by ordi- 
nary processes. 

We may not be building a structure by means of 



tHE LADDER BY WHICH WE RISE. 193 

which we expect to make our names famous, but we are / 
all building the invisible framework of character. May ' 
the material of which it is composed be the best, and 
may it be held together by the nails of pure motive and 
noble purpose. -"'' 

Life is made up of success and failure, and those who 
are the most successful are the truest and best workers. 
We all expect success, and this stimulates us to greater 
activity. Often, however, instead of our efforts being 
crowned vv'ith success, we meet with failure, but our fail- 
ures, as well as our successes, should be steps by v/hich 
v/e rise to greater usefulness. Now, v/e rise only as we 
place our difficulties under our feet. 

Usually the greater the natural endowment, the higher 
the aim. Buffm's definition of genius, "It is patience," 
does not seem exaggerated, when the achievements of 
patience are considered. It is an old and oft-quoted 
proverb that, "Where there's a will there's a way." 
Though the v;ay may be beset with difficulties and prog- 
ress seems almost impossible, yet by overcoming those 
that are nearest, a way through the others maybe opened. 
It has been said of a distinguished artist that he painted 
the chips scattered about his father's farm all over, and 
then struggled through many narrow straits of poverty \/ 
and oppression, before the great men of the nation came 
to his studio for their portraits. Only by perseverance, 
are we able to overcome the opposition which we meet 
in life. The sweetest flowers are guarded by the sharp- 
est thorns, so our greatest achievements may be sur- 
rounded by the most trying difficulties. 

"Heaven is not reached at a single bound, 
But we build the ladder by which we rise, 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 
And mount to its summit round by round." 



,194 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



VALEDICTORY. 

We, as a high school class, have reached in our course 
of study, what comes to all through patient perseverance 
— the end. There is always pleasure in accomplishment, 
and in reaching a result, and there is gratification in the 
thought that we have, by conscientious work, reached the 
close of our school course, and are now ready to take a 
step beyond. The good results which we expect from 
our study, are not to be considered wholly made up of 
acquired knowledge. A wise and thoughtful writer says: 
''The education received at school and college is but a 
beginning, and is mainly valuable in so far as it trains 
us in the habit of continuous application, and enables 
us to^ educate ourselves after a definite plan and system," 

If our school life has given us true ideals, and a start 
toward a method of independent thought, it has done 
well and fulfilled its proper purpose. These we truly 
hope have been the results, and, feeling that we have 
been thus benefited, our thoughts turn to you, kind 
friends and patrons, in heartfelt gratitude for the educa- 
tional advantages with which you have favored us. 

We address you as friends — friends who have watched 
our progress year by year, and whose words of encour- 
agement have often spurred us on to higher endeavor 
and stronger efifort. The class of 19 — sincerely thank 
you for your interest in the Vv'ork of the past, as well as 
that shown on this occasion, and we aim and hope to 
become members of society worthy the school so well 
established and maintained by this generous community, 



VALEDICTORY. 195 

acting through their appointed school board. Nothing 
within its power to bestow which could in any way aid 
or help us in our work, has been withheld by the board, 
and we shall always remember the lasting benefits 
derived from their wise actions. 

As we look back upon our record, and think of all the 
intercourse of the school-room, as classmates together, 
thoughts of regret rise and steal away something of the 
pleasure of the day. Year after year, we have learned 
the same lessons, overcome similar trials, and shared the 
same school triumphs and pleasures. Our thoughts and 
interests have been one; but the day of graduation 
marks the first great change in our lives. The course of 
each of our classmates in the future will be different. 
Whatever rests in store for each in the future, it must 
surely be a life of greater activity and variety. 

Wherever our lot may be cast, whether in pleasant 
places or among thorns and briars of Hfe's pathways, 
we shall often think of the old schoolroom, just how each 
pupil looked, remember some pleasant incident, and 
think how short those happy school days were. We 
shall then know how to say, "Our school days were the 
happiest of our life." 

But we must say farewell, and break the ties that have 
long bound us as a class. Wherever you, my classmates, 
may go, whatever you may do, may you succeed in the 
life of usefulness, carrying with you ever the free and 
buoyant spirit of your school "days. Though we can 
never be classmates again, the class feeling of true 
friendship and sympathy need never cease. 

But we say farewell, not only to former days and old 
friends, but harder than all to our dear teachers, who 
have daily thought and worked for us to make our school 



I9t> ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

routine not a task, but a thing of pleasure and profit. 
The teacher who understands the particular wants of all 
his pupils, and who does all in his power to aid each in 
the needed direction, is doing a great work. Such 
teachers have been ours. Who guided and directed our 
thoughts, explained the hard places and showed us the 
important points of each lesson, as we pursued a tire- 
some study? Who had such patience with failures and 
faults as our teachers? Who of my class but will say, 
"All that I have done as a pupil has been through the 
influence of my teachers. It is they who have shown 
me the true import of study." 

The tenderest thoughts of .all our school recollections, 
are those concerning teacher and pupil in their daily 
intercourse. Regret, deep and lasting, fills the heart 
that it all must cease; that we shall never again receive 
the good counsel which has been so great an incentive 
to our efforts in study at school, as well as at home. For 
the influence of a good teacher is not only seen in the 
direct work at school, but shows itself in the words and 
actions of the pupils, wherever they go. 

It is with sadness akin to sorrow, that we leave the 
school life, made so pleasant and instructive by their 
efforts. Still progressing, may the instructions and pre- 
cepts given us day by day, and week, by week guide 
each of us to take up and carry forward, his or her life 
work. 

Kind teachers, as pupils, we say farewell to you to-day, 
but nothing can remove from our minds the remem- 
brance of all you have done for us, nor darken the picture 
of those bright school days spent as classmates and 
teachers together. 

But, mingled with these feelings for the past, come 



VALEDICTORY. 197 

anticipations for the future, which still allures us on. 
Time speeds with flying feet, and all alike must follow. 
The curtain falls upon the past school-day scenes, but 
another and more glorious scene lies before our eyes — 
the morning of our manhood is breaking, and before us 
stretches far into the distance widely diverging paths, 
which lead us ever onward to an unknown future. 

Teachers and school-companions, one and all, with a 
last lingering look at the setting sun of our high-school 
days shining with a tender radiance, clothing all the 
scene with glorious beauty, we turn and fix our gaze 
upon the day just dawning. 



ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



THE OLD MAN GOES TO TOWN. 

Well, wife, I've been to 'Frisco, an' I called to see the 

boys ; 
I'm tired an' more'n half deafened with the travel and the 

noise; 
So I'll sit down by the chimbley, and rest my weary 

bones, 
And tell how I was treated by our 'ristocratic sons. 

As soon as I reached the city, I hunted up our Dan — 
Ye know he's now a celebrated wholesale business man. 
I walked down from the depo' — but Dan keeps a country 

seat — 
An' I thought to go home with him, an' rest my weary 

feet. 

All the way I kep' athinkin' how famous it 'ud be 

To go 'round the town together — my grown-up boy an' 

me, 
An' remember the old tiir^es, when my little "curly head" 
Used to cry out, ''Good-night, papal" from his little 

trundle-bed. 

I never thought a minute that he wouldn't want to see 
His gray an' worn old father, or would be ashamed of 

me; 
So when I seen his office, with a sign writ out in gold, 
I walked in 'thout knockin' — but the old man was too 
bold. 



THE OT-D M/vN GOES TO TOWN. 199 

Dan was settin' by a table, an' a-writin' in a book; 

He knowed me in a second; — but he gave me such a 

look! 
He never said a word o' yoa, but axed about the grain, 
An' ef I thought the valley didn't need a little rain. 



I didn't stay a great while, but inquired after Rob; 
Dan said he hved upon the hill — I think they call it Nob ; 
An' when I left, Dan, in a tone that almost broke me 

down, 
Said: "Call an' see me, won't ye, whenever you're in 

town?" 

It was rather late that evenin' when I found our Robert's 

house; 
There was music, lights and dancin' and -a mighty big 

carouse. 
At the door a nigger met me, an' he grinned from ear to 

ear, 
Sayin', "Keerds ob invitation, or you nebber git in here.'^ 

I said I w^as Bob's father; an', with another grin, 
The nigger left me standin', and disappeared within. 
Bob came out on the porch — he didn't order me away, 
But he said he hoped to see me at his office the next day. 

Then I started fur a tavern, fur I knowed there, anyway, 
They wouldn't turn me out so long's I'd money fur to 

pay. 
An' Rob an' Dan had left me about the streets to roam, 
An' neither of them axed me if I'd money to git home. 



2CO ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

It may be the way o' rich folks — I don't say it is not— 
But we remember some things Dan and Rob have quite 

forgot. 
We didn't quite expect this, wife, when, twenty years 

ago, 
We mortgaged the old homestead to give Rob and Dan 

a show. 



I didn't look for Charley, but I happened just to meet 
Him with a lot o' friends o' his'n, a-comin' down the 

street. 
I thought I'd pass on by him, for fear our youngest 

son 
Would show he was ashamed of me, as Rob an' Dan had 

done. 



But as soon as Charley seen me, he, right afore 'em all. 
Said: ''God bless me, there's my father!" as loud as he 

could bawl. 
Then he introduced me to his frien's, an' sent 'em all 

away, 
Tellin' 'em he'd see 'em later, but was busy for that day. 

Then he took me out to dinner, an' he axed about the 

house. 
About you, an' Sally's baby, an' the chickens, pigs an' 

cows; 
He axed about his brothers, addin' that 'twas ruther 

queer, 
But he hadn't seen one uv 'em fur mighty nigh a year. 



THE OLD MAN GOES TO TOWN. 201 

Then he took me to his lodgin', in an attic four stairs 

high; 
He said he Hked it better 'cause 'twas nearer the sky; 
An' he said: "I've only one room, but my bed is pretty 

wide." 
An' so we slept together, me an' Charley, side by side. 

Next day we went together to the great Mechanics' Fair, 
An' some o' Charley's picters was on exhibition there. 
He said when he could sell 'em, which he hoped to pretty 

soon, 
He'd make us all a visit, an' be richer than Muldoon. 

An' so two days an' two nights we passed, an' when I 

come away, 
Poor Charley said the time was short, an' begged fur me 

to stay. 
Then he took me in a buggy an' druv me to the train, 
An' said in just a little while he'd see us all again. 

You know we never thought our Charley would ever 

come to much; 
He was always readin' novels an' poetry and such. 
There was nothing on the farm he ever seemed to want 

to do, 
An' when he took to paintin' he disgusted me clear 
through. 

So we gave to Rob and Dan all we had to call our own, 
An' left poor Charley penniless, to make his way alone. 
He's only a poor painter; Rob an' Dan are rich as sin; 
But Charley's worth a pair of 'em, with all their gold 
thrown in. 



202 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

Those two grand men, dear wife, were once our prattlin' 

babes — an' yet 
It seems as if a mighty gulf 'twixt them an' us is set; 
An' they'll never know the old folks till life's journey's 

past, 
And the rich and poor are equal underneath the sod at 

last. 

An' maybe, when we all meet on the resurrection morn. 
With our earthly glories fallen, like the husks from the 

ripe corn, 
When the righteous Son of Man the awful sentence 

shall have said, 
The brightest crown that's there may be on Charley's 

head. — Selected, 



SIX MAXIMS FOR BOYS. 203 



SIX MAXIMS FOR BOYS. \ 

Early in life secure a practical business education. 

Save when you are young to spend when you are old. 

Never play games of chance or make bets of any 
kind. 

Small and steady gains give competency with tran- 
quillity of mind. 

If you desire to prosper, do not make too great haste 
to get rich. 

Avoid temptations through fear that in after years 
you may not be able to withstand them. 



204 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 



WHAT GOD GIVES A BOY. 

A body to keep clean aiid healthy as a temple for his 
mind and soul. 

A pair of hands to use for himself and others, but never 
against others for himself. 

A pair of feet to do errands of love, kindness, charity 
and business, but not to loiter in places of mischief or 
sin. 

A pair of lips to keep pure, unpolluted by either 
tobacco or strong drink, and to speak true, brave, kind, 
helpful words. 

A pair of ears to hear the music of bird and tree and 
human voice, but not to give heed to what dishonors 
God. 

A pair of eyes to see the beautiful, the good and the 
true, — God's handiwork as seen everywhere in old 
Nature about him. 

A mind to remember and reason and decide and store 
up wisdom and impart it to others, but not to be turned 
into a chip basket for chaff and rubbish. 

A soul, as fair as a newfallen snowflake, to receive 
impressions of good and to develop faculties of power 
and virtue, which shall shape it day by day, as the artist's 
chisel shapes the stone, into the image and likeness of 
Jesus Christ. 



HOW BOYS MAY SUCCEED. 205 



HOW BOYS MAY SUCCEED. 

Many of our successful men began life without a dol- 
lar. They have won success by hard work and strict 
honesty. You can do the same. Here are a dozen rules 
for your consideration : 

1. Be honest. Dishonesty seldom makes one rich, and 
when it does, riches are a curse. There is no such thing 
as dishonest success. 

2. Be industrious. Work earnestly. The world will 
not pay you for nothing. Ninety per cent of what the 
world calls genius is only a talent for hard work. 

3. Be equipped. Chose the trade, business or profes- 
sion which you like best, and for which nature seems 
to have fitted you (provided it is honorable), and then 
pursue it zealously. 

4. Be independent. Do not rely on others to do your 
thinking or to conquer your difficulties. Master your 
business and then rely upon yourself. 

5. Be thorough. No matter what you undertake, do 
it well. No one can rise who slights his task. Keep as 
one of your mottoes, "Once well done, twice done." 

6. Be patient. Don't try to begin at the top. Begin 
at the bottom. Learn your business thoroughly, pursue 
it judiciously, and keep as your watchword, ''Excelsior.'' 

7. Be sensible. Trust to nothing but God and hard 
work. Inscribe on your banner, "Luck is a fool; Pluck 
is a hero." 

8. Be punctual. Keep your appointments. Be there 



2o6 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

a minute before time if you have to lose your dinner to 
do it. 

9. Be polite. Every smile, every gentle bow, means 
more money in your pocket and more friends in time of 
need. 

10. Be generous. Meanness makes enemies and 
causes distrust. ''Do unto others as you would have 
others do unto you." 

11. Be frugal. Spend less than you earn. Do not run 
into debt. Watch the little leaks, and you can live on 
your income. 

12. Be zealous. Make all the money you can honesdy> 
Do all the good you can with it whik you live. | 



CLASS MOTTOES. 30^ 



CLASS MOTTOES, 

Aim at a definite end. 

Always higher. 

A place in the ranks awaits us. 

Beyond the Alps lies Italy. 

Candidly and constantly. 

Deeds, not words. 

End — there is none. 

Energy wins the way. 

Excelsior. 

Follow up advantages. 

From possibility to reality. 

Gaining ground. 

Greatly begin. 

Grit wins. 

Haste not, rest not. 

Impossible is un-American. 

Labor conquers all. 

Labor opens the gate. 

Look forward, not backward. 

Mind moves matter. 

More beyond. 

Morning dawns. 

No footsteps backward. 

Not finished, but begun. 

Not for school, but for life, we learn. 

Not how much, but how well. 

Now we try a boundless sea. 

On and on. 



208 ESSAYS AND ORATIONS. 

On the heights the air is purest. 

On the threshold. 

Only the darkness brings out the stars. 

Onward and upward. 

Out of the harbor, out on the deep. 

Onward bound. 

Past toils are pleasant. 

Rowing, not drifting. 

Self-education. 

Something yet to be gleaned. 

Starting on life's journey. 

Step by step. 

Strive for higher culture. 

Strive for higher honor. 

Success waits at labor's gate. 

The beginning, but not the end. 

The golden age is before us. 

The marble lieth waiting. 

The measure — deeds, not years. 

The truth shall make you free. 

There are no Alps. 

Thus ends our first lesson. 

To be, not to see. 

To the work. 

Toward the heights. 

Try, trust, triumph. 

Victory beyond the stars. 

We are parting, new tasks to pursue. 

We finish to begin. 

We will. 

We've reached the bay in safety; the ocean lies in view. 

Who thinks can conquer. 

Without labor there is nothing. 

31^77-2 



